Flight of the Phoenix
by HarborRat
Summary: DW3 Nu Wa & Pang Tong romance fic. His fate awaits him on Fallen Phoenix slope, but what will become of the woman who is dedicated to him alone? WARNING: Character Death
1. The Young Phoenix Emerges

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Dynasty Warriors, Koei does.

**A/N**: This is a repost from a couple of years back. It was deleted on a purge of the category for one reason or another. It is a DW3 fic and it does contain CHARACTER DEATH. So that is your warning. Since I can only assume it was deleted for that reason I am posting it as a Mature fic. That's about the only reason. Nothing has been changed from the last time it was posted.

3/13/10- Put the breaks back in that were dropped in some format change over the years.

* * *

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 1

** The Young Phoenix Emerges**

* * *

After the battle of Chang Ban, the Shu army takes a moment on the shores of the Chang Jiang to rest and two strangers come to visit.

"So who is she?" Zhao Yun asked as he stood next to his comrades Zhang Fei and Guan Yu.

"Dunno." Fei answered. "She came in with the cloaked guy."

"Why don't you ask?" Guan Yu shot Yun a look that bordered on a dare.

"She's mean." Yun replied.

"How do you know that?" Guan Yu wanted the younger man to go pester the young girl that stood before Liu Bei's tent. It amused him to watch Yun get shot down. She was cute, but very very angry looking. Long straight brown hair, long straight sharp rapier and very long agile looking legs. She wore a little green vest, pants and mid calf boots. On her wrists were bracers and a small shield, she was ready to fight.

Yun straightened up; he was going to do it. He walked up to the girl and she stared at him, with a cold piercing glare. She scratched the little donkey that she as with. "Hello, I'm General Zhao Yun." He smiled his winning smile, the one that always melted the ladies. But she kept staring at him and it was breaking down his resolve.

"So?"

"I didn't get your name." Yun tried again, broad smile and twinkling eyes.

"No, you didn't."

"Okay, well…..that's a nice ass you've got there." He smiled and tried to pet the donkey. Then he heard the roaring laughter from Fei and Yu and realized what he had just said. She turned her head slowly and put her hands on her hips.

"What did you just say?"

"I didn't mean…."

"What's going on out here?" Liu Bei pushed through the tent flap and looked at the pride and joy of the Shu army. Zhang Fei was rolling on the ground laughing while Guan Yu sat next to him crying from the excessive laughter he had just endured. Then there was Zhao Yun who was blood red with embarrassment. Liu Bei sighed, and then realized the young girl was about ready to stare his bravest warrior into a retreat.

"Oh honey, good news! We're going to stay." Pang Tong said as he popped out of the tent.

Zhao Yun watched as the menacing girl suddenly light up with happiness as she heard the odd little man speak. He was horrified when the man actually walked over and kissed her. "Uh…."

"Pang Tong, may I introduce one of my most dependable and valiant officers, Zhao Yun. Yun, Pang Tong will be joining us as a strategist." Liu Bei smiled as he saw the younger man stammer.

"Nice to meet you kiddo." Tong held out his right hand for the Yun to shake and looped his other around the young girl's shoulders. She leaned into him and smiled.

"Yes, a pleasure." Yun forced out

"And let me introduce my wife, Nu Wa."

"Your wife?" Yun let his hand fall out of the weird little man's grasp.

"And my protector, right sweetie?" Tong kissed her cheek and squeezed her affectionately.

"That's right." She smiled and then looked at Yun and her voice went cold again, "So don't get any ideas or I'll skewer your sorry little ass to a tree."

"Now Wa, we're on the same side now. " Tong giggled. "You didn't meet Liu Bei yet did you?"

Wa looked away from the annoying long haired man and over to the commander. She let her smile return. "It's really nice to meet you sir."

"It will be so nice to have another pretty face around." Bei kissed her hand. He looked up at the happy pair and noticed that the younger woman was quite at ease in her husband's embrace. If only Shang could get that comfortable with him, hell if only she could bear to be around him. "How long have you two been married?"

"What is it two years now?" Tong asked his happy spouse.

"Yes, because I was 18."

"And I was the dirty old man at 30." Tong giggled.

"I have a tent ready and you have yet to meet my brothers." Bei smiled and was envious of them.

"Oh we do have to meet the others don't we?" Tong looked over at the two exhausted men on the ground. "Ah, later. They look occupied."

"Yun why don't you show them to their tent?" Bei snuck closer and whispered, "And apologize for whatever you said, dumbass."

"Your tent is over here, by Zhuge Liang and his wife. Have you met them yet?" Yun asked.

"He was a classmate of mine."

"Fortify the stronghold gentlemen, my husband and his friends usually like to argue with lightning blasts across the yard." Wa snuggled up closer as Tong took the donkey's lead.

As they followed Yun to their tent, Liu Bei wandered over to his brothers. "You two are never going to grow up are you?"

"So who are they?" Yu asked as he sat up.

"Pang Tong and his wife Nu Wa." Liu Bei crossed his arms as Zhang Fei sat up.

"Wait, the short little cloaked dude is married to the cute little angry chick?" Fei asked.

"But he's like twice her age." Yu saw Bei cock his eyebrow.

"AND?"

"There's nothing wrong with that." Yu smiled apologetically.

"But that relationship has plenty wrong with it." Fei admitted.

* * *

"Thank you again, Zhao Yun." Pang Tong shook the man's hand again as Wa stared him down.

"Well, I'll see you both at dinner then." He smiled and left.

"You two hit it off; I better keep my eye on you and your wandering eyes." Tong chuckled and disappeared into the tent.

"My wandering eyes?" Wa jumped on his back, "I'll show you wandering eyes old man!"

"Easy now, I'm not some dashing young general you can abuse." He let her have her way and he flopped down on the bed. She rolled off him and laughed. He knew his lovely wife never looked at another man; she only had eyes for him. What he ever did to be so lucky, he would never know.

Wa threw his straw hat off his head and played with his short hair. "So how did it go?"

Tong sat up in the bed and tossed off his cloak. "Ehhh."

"Ehh?" She crawled up and kissed him. "What's ehhhh about it?"

"They need more generals. We'll have to keep our eyes pealed." He lay down on the pillows and pulled her down next to him.

"They've got two more now, how many do you want?" She pulled herself closer to him and smiled as he ran his hands through her hair.

"Well, we strategists aren't much for fighting. That's why we bring our wives along."

"Honey, you can fight a hundred times better then Liang with that stupid fan."

"But not half as well as you." He took her hand and kissed her palm.

"That's why I'm by your side, so I can let you concentrate on what you need to be doing." She rolled over on top of him. "I love you."

"I love you too Wa." He smiled as she kissed his neck and began to work his cloak off.

* * *

"Ah, Pang Tong you have not had a chance to meet Guan Yu and Zhang Fei yet, have you?" Liu Bei stood as the strategist approached with his wife.

"No, sir, I believe they were indisposed." He chuckled.

"I am _really_ sorry about my slip up." Zhao Yun whispered to Nu Wa across the table.

"You have no idea how sorry you would have been." She snapped.

Yun slunk back into his seat as Tong patted her thigh and scolded, "Now honey, you have to go easy on him. He's Liu Bei's favorite from what I hear."

"Not at the moment." Yun had not so fond memories of last night when he had apologized for not being able to ask for Wa's forgiveness. He just didn't see the right moment and Liu Bei lit into him for it.

"Nice to have you with us!" Guan Yu held out his hand then kissed Wa's hand. "And your presence will be very appreciated."

"Thank you sir." Wa smiled.

"Ditto." Fei repeated the procedure.

"Well Tong, you did make it didn't you?" Zhuge Liang strolled up, robes flowing behind him.

"Hey, Kongming. Long time no see, eh?" Tong embraced his old friend.

"Hello again Wa." Yue Ying touched the younger girls shoulder.

"Good to see you again Ying." Wa gave the girl a hug. "What are you looking at?" Wa growled at Yun.

"Nothing…" he averted his eyes as Guan Yu laughed.

"Don't mind him, he tries to hit on everyone." Ying nudged Wa's arm.

"Well I didn't appreciate it." She was distracted by Tong pulling her into him.

"Let's eat huh?"

"Yun, could you go remind Shang that I'd appreciate her eating with us?" Liu Bei knew it was a horrible job, but Yun was really high on his shitlist right now.

* * *

"So then Bei jumps in the middle of it, and the three of us are wailing on him. I mean wailing." Fei was illustrating with his chicken legs. "But Lu Bu was just that good, and none of us even touched him."

"That was impressive, I have to admit." Guan Yu nodded.

"You should tell them about how you beat Lu Bu, honey." Tong smirked.

Wa caught the surprise looks on their faces. "He was my brother's friend, back in Luo Yang." She explained.

"We really don't know much about you my dear." Liu Bei smiled, "Kongming had already filled us in on your husband."

"Same old story really. Our village was attacked and burned and my brother and I went to the capital because there really wasn't anything else we could do. So he got a job as a clerk and I started training under Hua Xiong, part of his capital defense force." Wa smiled as Tong rubbed her hand.

"That's where we met, Luo Yang." Tong winked at her.

"Your brother is Fu Xi, isn't he?" Sun Shang Xiang asked, completely quiet until that very moment.

"How…" Wa couldn't hide her surprise. The Wu princess had made it very clear that she didn't like the current arrangements with Liu Bei.

"He joined Wu after Xia Pi. My father convinced him to join us, just as Zhang Liao was wooed by Cao Cao. He is actually really close friends with everyone there, including me." Shang returned to being quiet.

"So what about Lu Bu?" Fei was interested and didn't notice the heavy amount of tension between the two women.

"He was my brother's pal, and you know how guys usually treat their friends little sisters. He thought it was part of his duty to look out for me and tease me like Xi. Then Xi thought it was time to find me a husband and Lu Bu decided to help. He pushed Zhang Liao and Dong Zhou pushed Hua Xiong. Then Niou Fu snuck himself in there for some reason, I don't know why. I wasn't interested, which didn't mean any of them went away. But when Tong and I met, I was in the market wandering. Lu Bu rode up and started to push Liao some more."

Tong interrupted. "I'll tell it better from here. I was at the well, getting a drink when this all started. You can all see how my darling can get when she's irritated, ehh? Well she got downright mad with Lu Bu and he only thought it to be funny. So Wa takes out her rapier and swings at him, and he laughs and retaliates by throwing her headpiece in the well. So my little spitfire then turns back to him and slices Red Hare's reins and slaps the stud on the rump with the flat part of her blade. So quick and beautiful, that's my girl. Then off goes Red Hare trashing the market and Lu Bu trying to halt his horse without the aid of a bit. Then she was all mine." He chuckled.

"Yeah, what a nice day that turned out to be." She smiled and kissed him.

* * *

"Shang would you like to sleep here tonight?" Liu Bei figured he'd try. He had to keep trying.

"No."

"Honey, we're married now, eventually maybe….."

Sun Shang Xiang put her hands on her hips and stared at him. "Maybe what?"

"Maybe we can get along?" Liu Bei smiled, pleading with her.

"I'll always hate you." She pushed past him and left the tent.

Bei sighed. He was getting too old for this.

* * *

Tong sat content on the hill overlooking the Chang Jiang River. Wa came up and sat in his lap, just like she always did. He wrapped his cloak around them both so they could watch the night sky together. "How you doing, my love?" he asked.

"Good, now that I'm with you." She rested her head against his shoulder and neck.

"This ChiBi deal, it's real iffy."

"We gonna make it?" She asked knowing his ability to sense things like that. "Wu going to join us?"

"Yeah, I think so." He pulled her closer to him knowing there was always a chance this would be the last time they had this moment.

Wa knew what he was thinking; she was worried about it too. If she ever lost him…..it would be like losing her soul. He was everything to her and he seemed to be the only one who could make her happy. Then she thought back to that day, in the market…

_Fu Xi had just given her a lecture on how lucky she was to have three well respected suitors and how immature she was being about getting married. But she walked out on him, like she always did. Stupid boy, what did he know? To clear her mind she went for a walk in the market, but Lu Bu found her._

"_Hey little sister, where are you off to?" He nudged her with his toe._

"_None of your business." _

"_Oh come on, you still mad about getting married?" Lu Bu watched the crowd move away from him and his unruly stallion._

"_Need I remind you that you're not my brother and you have no part of this?"_

"_If it makes you feel better. Come on Wa, I'm trying to help. Think about how nice it will be for you and Xi if you marry the right man? And Zhang Liao is the right man."_

_She stopped near the well. Lu Bu was annoying, in every way. He was childish and pushy despite being nearly thirty. But Xi thought he was great because he was a man's man. Fun to BS with, great to drink with and the best to fight with. Why he couldn't just leave her alone…..oh that's right he wants his war buddy to have a prize. Good old Zhang Liao. "One big happy family, huh?" _

"_Yeah, that's more like it. Sure I know you think Liao's a bit old, but he's second in command here. He's my best general, how much better can you get?"_

"_Not married."_

"_Look, Hua Xiong had to transfer you because he's competing for your affections. The sooner you choose someone, like Liao, the sooner you get back to your unit. That's what you want right?"_

_She felt her blood begin to boil. She had been left behind on the march to Si Shui Gate because Hua Xiong was pursuing her. How ridiculous, like she had asked for him to be a horny idiot. Why was she being punished, all she wanted to do was fight. "Go away."_

"_Make me, little one." He laughed, knowing it would provoke her._

_So she lost it and smacked his halberd away with her rapier. He only laughed again, thinking it was cute, and tossed her headpiece in the drink. That did it. She cut through Red Hare's reins, knowing the headstrong stud would be uncontrollable without constant play from the bit. Then to give him encouragement she slapped him on the ass with her blade, and off went Lu Bu at full gallop through the streets of Luo Yang. Frustrated she turned to the well and looked into it as a cloaked guy pulled the bucket up._

"_Let's see, did we fish anything out?" he asked. "Errr, no. Looks like it might be lost my lady." He giggled._

"_I don't find it funny." She growled. She watched him take off his straw hat and dust mask. He was oddly attractive in a rustic sage kind of way. Plus he did have a great sounding voice, even if he did giggle weird._

"_Great." She slumped against the well while he took a drink and let his donkey have the rest. She scratched the donkey's ears, "He's pretty cute."_

"_Why aren't you fresh? Talking about my ass in public like that. You should be ashamed." _

_She couldn't help but bust out laughing, scaring the townsfolk around her. To stifle the outburst she put her hand over her mouth only to have the stranger pull it away._

"_Don't cover such a pretty smile." _

_As he took her hand she felt something tingle inside. "My name's Nu_ _Wa."_

"_I'm Pang Tong."_

_And thus it began. For the next week while he was in Luo Yang buying odd things he couldn't find back home, she spent a lot of time with him. Between drill practice and her brother that is. Lu Bu had begun bringing Zhang Liao with him to the evening drinking gatherings, so she found it even more enticing to go to Tong's campsite outside of town. Thankfully Xi never noticed, having very low alcohol tolerance. But she quickly found that the zany little sage made her feel like she never had before. She was falling in love. Then she would sneak back to the house after sitting with him and step over the drunken men. But he never made an advance towards her nor did they ever talk about their feelings. Then came the day when he told her he was going to have to head home. He had stayed too long as it was. She felt like her heart had been ripped out._

"_So let's go ask this brother of yours if I can take you with me, huh?" He began to lead his donkey through the town._

"_What?" She asked, not thinking she heard him right._

"_Well kiddo, I love you, you love me. So the next thing to do is get hitched, right?"_

"_I never told you…" he finally gave her a kiss. Her first kiss, in the middle of Luo Yang, with everyone watching including Lu Bu._

"_I don't think he's going to take this well from what you tell me."_

"_Then we'll do it without his blessing." She couldn't believe this, how could this happen in less than a week?_

_Not going to take it well was an understatement.  
_

"_What?"_

"_I want to marry your sister." Tong stood and waited for Xi to look at him. He looked over at Wa peeking through the crack in the door. _

"_Get in line, preferably at the back." Xi filed through his papers._

"_Well she actually wants to, so I might as well cut to the front."_

"_Like hell you will."_

_Then she felt someone behind her and turned. Lu Bu was glaring at her, he was furious, and he had never been like that to her. She was genuinely scared. Letting the door close she stepped back away from him. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed_

"_Umm…"_

"_I try to set you up with one of the best men I know and you go whoring around with some monk from the hills?" he slammed his fist on the table._

"_He never touched me until five minutes ago. Lu Bu, I love him."_

"_And I love Diao Chan, but I can't have her. Sometimes you've got to grow up and realize the real world sucks." He crossed his arms. "And you're going to stop worrying your brother and get married to the right man. The one he picked out for you since you obviously don't know any better."_

"_No." She backed into the room, letting the door swing shut on her brother's furious friend. She turned to see that the situation was not going any better in there._

"_So this is who you've been spending your time with? And I had hoped you were sneaking off to Si Shui to see Hua Xiong."_

"_I love him Xi." She went over to Tong and clung to him for the first time. "I want to be with him for the rest of my life"_

"_In your shack on top of the mountain? You do realize he has nothing, right?"_

"_I never wanted anything, you did." She watched his eyes squint angrily at her._

"_Fine. But you won't have my blessing."_

_So they left and went to Li Ru who married them in a ceremony consisting of three people and a donkey. They left promptly after and she hadn't seen or heard from her brother since._

"What's wrong?" Pang Tong was very quick to pick up on things, especially when they involved his wife.

"Nothing."

"Oh now we're lying are we? I guess you do have something going on with General Zhao, huh?" he teased and picked her chin up. "What is it darling?"

She shook her head, "I just…"

"Your brother is fine, you heard Lady Sun. You'll probably see him at Jian Ye."

"I haven't seen him since…."

"I stole you."

"You didn't steal me." She smiled.

"It will be fine, I promise."

"I thought I was supposed to protect you." She closed her eyes comforted by him in every way.


	2. Flight to Jian Ye

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 2

**The Flight to Jian Ye**

**

* * *

**

"Look, we're heading to Jian Ye to join against Cao Cao, not beat on Fu Xi. Got it?" Tong kissed his wife and then wrapped his cloak around her. The early morning chill was still in the air and only multiplied by the fact that they were on the water. He had awakened to find her missing. She rarely got up early….actually she never got up early. Nu Wa loved to sleep in and awaken sometime around noon. Which is why it puzzled him, she mustn't have been able to sleep, which is why he knew she'd be on deck practicing.

Liu Bei frowned, "You have stolen my sparring partner." He sheathed his sword.

Tong played with his staff, "You've got your own wife to practice with! Don't go stealing mine! She's got enough ideas about Zhao Yun without adding you."

Liu Bei had to laugh; her obvious dislike of Zhao Yun was actually funny to him. Yun always had women all over him, but he hit a brick wall when he tried to get a conversation going with the fiery little wife of the young phoenix. Then there were Yun's sorry efforts to apologize, which she quickly cut him down for. "Yes I do see where you'd get that idea."

"Dirty old men." Wa nestled herself into Tong's cloak with a pout.

"Giving up that easy dear?" Tong kissed her again.

"How am I going to win an argument with an emperor and a strategist?"

"By taking it out on Zhao Yun at breakfast." Liu Bei knew the routine. "I'm actually beginning to pity him Wa."

"Oh it will make him stronger." Tong smirked. "And remind him that not all beautiful women are in love with him." Tong smiled as she leaned into him, but oddly enough he caught Liu Bei's sad stare. He knew that the marriage between Sun Shang Xiang and Liu Bei had never really taken off. Shang avoided him entirely; they slept in separate tents and she spent all of her time with her bodyguards. But Tong thought there was something more in Liu Bei's forlorn look, was it jealousy?

-----------------

Zhuge Liang watched as Lady Sun and Lady Nu sparred on deck. Tong was lost in the intense action and nothing short of a meteor shower blasting the ship into flotsam would have caught his attention. Liu Bei on the other hand was miserable; his honest eyes could never mask his true feelings. Liang worried about the marriage between Lady Sun and his lord; it all seemed so hastily put together after Liu Bei assembled his army. Sun Jian was a wise man and he quickly saw the need to secure his interests in the newcomer, especially with Cao Cao gobbling us land like a hog. How would this effect their potential alliance with Wu, if their princess was so very miserable?

Liu Bei sighed as Shang defended Nu Wa's attack. It seemed that all the young princess wanted was to go home, and stay there. She had surprised him last night by visiting his cabin. Curtly she told him she wasn't going to be accompanying him when Shu and Wu parted ways. He didn't argue, who was he to ruin her life? To make matters worse he couldn't stop thinking about how lucky Pang Tong was to have such a loving wife. He knew it was wrong to think about another man's wife, but he couldn't help but envy him. Nu Wa would happily die for her husband, Sun Shang Xiang would rather die than be with hers.

"Why is it that you are so attached to my brother?" Wa asked as Shang lunged for her and threw the annoying Chakrams in a loop around her.

"I told you, he joined Wu. We are very close knit."

"Every one here is close, like family, except for you." Wa pointed out only to have Shang musou her for the comment.

"Well not all of us are so wrapped up in our fantasy marriage!" Shang frowned when Wa blocked her tiring attack

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Wa smacked one of the war rings across the deck

"It means you should pass judgment on my relationship if you had to option of marrying for love!" Shang threw a high kick at the other woman's head.

"How hard is it to love Liu Bei? He's the nicest man I've ever met and he wants to love you." Wa was confused. It was true Liu Bei was kind to a fault. Even Tong shrugged off some of the things the man did, like feeding the peasants. 'I always went out and got my own food.' Tong mumbled when they saw the Shu leader pass out meat buns to the people of the village. Wa agreed, she and Xi had to play the hunter-gatherer when they were traveling from their charred home to Luo Yang. They survived without the kindness of anyone and they were just kids!

"Oh you're just so wise." Shang threw her last Chakram at her opponent only to watch Wa bat it out of the way. "I don't even see why you're here. They already have a strategist, and he's twice as smart as yours."

"Watch what you say about Tong." Wa pointed the rapier at the woman's throat.

"Hey honey?" Tong began waving at her. "It's just practice! Please don't kill the emperor's wife; it will make me look bad."

"Yes dear." Wa smiled to her husband and sheathed her sword.

"You're the perfect companion animal aren't you? Woof." Shang stormed off.

"You pretentious little…."

"Let her go." Yue Ying cautioned. "She's not worth getting worked up over."

"Why does she have to be so horrible to him?" Wa asked the older woman.

"I honestly don't know." Ying couldn't imagine being so vicious to her husband, even though he usually ignored her in favor of his work. She understood and he always apologized for it. Liang was a good man, but even she did not adore her spouse like Wa did. She watched the happy girl trot over to her husband and kiss him. They'd been apart too long, almost fifteen minutes. This war was going to be hard on them, she just hoped that they both made it out alive.

---------------------------

The small fleet stopped at a port on the river since their supplies were running out. Pang Tong and Nu Wa accompanied Liu Bei into the marketplace since Sun Shang Xiang abandoned him to visit a friend of her father. Zhao Yun wanted to go with his lord, as protection, but Bei only got angry with him. He could defend himself and Zhao Yun's presence meant Nu Wa's absence. He adored Nu Wa, she was always so kind to him and he needed some feminine attention at the moment. Tong would tease her about it, but he knew where his wife's loyalties lied. Bei yawned as Tong began to take his time arguing with a merchant over an amulet.

Wa tapped her foot anxiously. "Tong…"

"In a minute sweetie."

Wa went over to Liu Bei and smiled, "He does this all the time. I've never met anyone who takes so long to shop."

"He's a haggler." Liu Bei observed as the shorter man accused the shop keep of trying to swindle him out of his life savings.

"I can get him to drop the price…real quick." Wa cocked an eyebrow and rested her hand on the hilt of her weapon.

"Well if you're going to be that way, maybe I would have let Zhao Yun come along." Bei smiled as she playfully smacked him.

"Oh. I see. I go through all this trouble to get you a present and you can't keep your hands off him for five minutes! Sheesh!" Tong tapped his staff on the ground.

"You bought me something?" Wa walked over to him and began sticking her hands in his cloak to find the gift.

Liu Bei chuckled as the sage began swatting her away. Tong began to shriek with laugher and giggles as she tickled him. Bei laughed when the man hit the ground trying to protect himself from the assault. "You should have known better, Tong."

"EEEPPP!"

"Where is it?" Wa pinned him to the road.

"Help! Help! Rape! Rape!" Tong screamed as passers by shook their heads in disgust.

"Something wrong?" Zhao Yun ran up, spear raised.

Wa triumphantly pulled the amulet out of Tong's grasp and stared at it. "What is it?"

"Dragon amulet." Tong caught his breath. "Oh hey, your favorite general is here; maybe you want him to put it on you."

Yun blushed and smiled sweetly. "Uhhh."

"I don't want him to touch me; I don't know where he's been." Wa glared at Yun.

"Here." Tong sat up and took the pendant. He smiled as Wa kissed him and lifted up her hair to give him better access to her neck. He wrapped the chain around her and clasped it. The small pendant fell around her neck and she looked down at it.

"Thank you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.

"Come my pesky wife; let's see what the good general needs." Tong stood up and adjusted his hat.

"I just though our lord would be interested in this horse I found. He's a well-bred dapple grey. The owner wants to get rid of him because he's bad luck." Yun shrugged. "At a very reasonable price, I might add."

"Well let's take a look at him then." Bei smiled. "I bet Tong can negotiate an even better price."

"That is very pretty on you." Yun tried to give Wa a compliment. She couldn't turn that around on him, could she? Smack!

"How dare you look down my vest!"

"I wasn't I swear!" Yun backed up as she brandished her fist at him.

Tong giggled and pulled his fearsome wife away from the general. "Come on, let's go look at his horse."

"Let _him_ lead the way. I don't want him looking at my ass again!"

"I wasn't…." Yun looked to Liu Bei who was trying not to laugh.

"Come on Zilong, show us the way." As Yun passed Bei followed him and asked, "Do you want me to protect you?"

"I wasn't looking at anything…." Yun mumbled and lead the way to the stables. He couldn't seem to win with her. He wasn't even doing anything wrong!

-----------------------------------

Wa stood on the fence and fed the grey stud a carrot. "What's his name?"

"Hex Mark." The seller told her.

"Well if he's bad luck…" Liu Bei pet the horse's neck.

"Stupid superstitions." Tong muttered. "There's no magic here."

"You should take him out for a ride sir." Yun suggested. "That should be the determining factor."

"I'll sell him to you for 500 less then he's worth. I don't need any more trouble from him." The seller offered.

"Well….." Bei hesitated.

"Go ahead my lord, you're a good judge of horseflesh. If you think he's a good animal then he is. 'Hex' or no." Tong gave the trader an annoyed look. Amateur. He cleared his throat. "But if he is cursed it could lead to the demise of the whole army. Maybe you should knock off another 500."

"750 off the original price."

"823" Tong smirked.

"Um sure."

------------------

Gan Ning cracked the bottle into millions of small glass fragments and smiled. "Point for me!"

"The point was that you knock it over with the meat bun, not crack it with your sword!" Fu Xi smashed the meat bun into Ning's spiky hair.

"Yeah, now the bridge is all sparkly." Sun Ce kicked the shrapnel into the river.

"Quick! Clean it up before your best friend yells at us for being children!" Ning pushed Ce away.

"Too late." Zhou Yu growled.

"Awww…" Ning kicked the shards into the river.

"I hope you step on that when you go bathe next year." Yu narrowed his eyes and cross his arms in annoyance.

"Hey bro." Ce waved and put another bottle on the bridge.

"Is this seriously what you've been doing all day?" Yu looked to the three of them.

"Well we did ride a dairy cow through the ballroom earlier." Xi smirked.

"How proud Sun Jian must be of the bright young talent before me today."

"What would you have us do? Someone locked up all the booze!" Ning hollered.

"Because we are getting ready to welcome Shu into an alliance."

"They won't care. We should move the party to the barn, it would probably make them more comfortable." Xi chuckled.

"Your sister will be so happy to come home. If I were her I'd be too embarrassed to set foot on this side of China again!" Zhou Yu ribbed his temples.

"Blah, blah, blah." Ning mumbled

"Hey! Here they come." Xi scratched his head. "A little early but farmers are such early risers." He watched the Shu army come towards the bridge.

"Where did we leave that cow?" Ning asked Ce.

"Zhou Tai's room." Ce snickered.

"I honestly hope he kills you all very slowly." Yu straightened his robes and walked to the edge of the bridge. "Liu Bei, welcome! I am Zhou Yu, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Thank you. I also am happy to make your acquaintance. I know we are a tad early, I hope this doesn't put you out."

"Not at all." Yu replied and cast an angry stare at Zhuge Liang. _So we finally meet._

"Hey, Xi." Ning poked his friend with his elbow. "There's a cute little chick that's got her eye on you."

Ce looked down the line of Shu officers and stopped at the woman Ning had spotted. "Yeah, she's pretty hot."

Xi growled and pushed his way past his friends. "That's my _sister_!"

"Oh." Ce said as Xi made his way over to her.

"What's wrong honey?" Tong asked at Wa stared off at the bridge. He could tell from her body language that something wasn't right. Then he saw who she was staring at. "Oh, Fu Xi. How nice to see you again."

"Yeah, real nice." Xi muttered.

"Well nice to know you're alive." Wa grumbled

"Likewise."

Tong sighed. He hated knowing that the two of them, once so close, had drifted apart because of him. It was his only regret where his wife was concerned. Perhaps while they were here in Wu he could find a way to get them back together. As much as his loved his him, she could be extremely difficult and stubborn with everyone else in the world.


	3. Not So Friendly Skies

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 3

**Not so Friendly Skies**

**

* * *

**

"Ready for lunch?" Tong kissed Wa's smiling face as he bent over the bed. "Enjoy your nap?"

"I thought you were strategizing with the pretentious people." She yawned

"I have been since we got here but it's now noon. So you want to have lunch with me pretty lady?"

"Do I!" She pulled him down and kissed him.

"You might want to get dressed, eh? I've got my hands full fending off the available men in our own camp. I don't need you parading around in your nightgown to interest the Wu boys as well." He patted her leg.

"Tong?" Wa sat up as he stood.

"Yes sweetie."

"When will you be done? Can we go look around the castle later?"

"Well, we may be up all night. Zhou Yu seems to have it in his head that he needs to best Liang on everything and Liang's not going to let that happen. So he's blasting him with those subtle insults of his. Then there's that kid, Lu Xun. He's just so happy to be involved he can't shut up. I never thought I'd hear anyone come up with more fire attacks than Kongming."

"Well a room full of windbags sounds like good place for one of your jokes." She smiled.

Tong rubbed his chin. "Yes it has been a long time since I've pulled one of those."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tong saw Fu Xi drinking with his friends and decided to angle Wa over towards him. "Come on, for me?"

"I don't see what you think this will accomplish." Wa let him guide her towards the table.

"If it isn't my favorite brother-in-law. Hey did I tell you that Zhang Liao has a list of accomplishments the size of this table? What exactly have you done so far?" Xi put his drink down

"What have you done?" Wa snapped before Tong could make light of the insult. "Other than take up the family profession of alcoholic?"

"And you're doing well with the 'bitch' slot opened up by mom."

"Meow!" Ning chuckled.

"And I though Shang and Quan got along bad." Ce kissed Da and received a giggle in return.

"Shove it, Xi."

"Make me."

"You sound so much like Lu Bu….oh speaking of." Wa let a wicked grin cross her face. "I liked how easily you and good ol' Liao gave up on your best friend at Xia Pi. At least Diao Chan put up a fight till the very end. He wasn't worth dying for was he? Will you be?" she turned and glared at Ce.

"Wa, please. There's no reason to go insulting the dead. Be a bit respectful, even if the man was a traitor." Tong squeezed her. She could get so out of hand with her insults.

Ce raised his eyebrows; she had a tongue like a whip. "Maybe you two should take your differences outside, huh? Blow off some steam?"

"Uh…that might not be such a good idea…."Tong warned but it was too late.

"If Xi can gather enough courage to go out there. It's not so easy being embarrassed on the training field in front of all your friends."

"FINE!" Xi slammed his fist on the table and got up. "You'll have your fight!"

"Good." She smiled. "I'll win to protect your honor sweetheart." She kissed Tong.

"Ohhhh…." Tong knew this wasn't going to be good.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pang Tong sat down on the ground with the other strategists and waited for his wife to beat on her brother. Everyone was in good spirits except for him. "I just hope she doesn't hurt him too bad."

Zhou Yu cocked an eyebrow. "Now it's just a bit of sparring. Xi isn't that bad, he does practice with Ning and Ce."

"But he's sloooooowwwww." Lu Xun shook his head.

"Tong, maybe you should get a bit closer to the fight. Just incase…." Liang suggested.

Tong sighed. "Gonna need more than me." He got up and moved to the 'judging' crate with Sun Jian and Liu Bei.

"Odd pair, aren't they?" Xun asked the Shu strategist.

Liang shrugged. "She's got a bad temper and Tong never raises his voice. She zips around the battlefield maiming and he takes his time whacking people. Tong just laughs everything off and she'll take offense at everything. Complete opposites, but it works extremely well. I've never met two people so intensely in love with one another. They have the entire camp glowing with envy."

"Sounds like you and Lady Qiao, Master Zhou Yu." Lu Xun's young eyes glowed with boyish charm.

It was true, Xiao was his exact opposite. She was quick to laugh, never got angry and always was polite. His demeanor was always stoic and cold, anger was never far from boiling over and he was rude and conceited to everyone. But they would never be so obvious in public, only around the true friends they had. It irked him that Liang now knew about his intimate life due to Xun's slip up. "My life is not in question right now, Xun."

"Sorry sir." Xun looked away. He just wanted to be friendly.

"They are about to begin." Liang tried to alleviate the tension, he felt sorry for Zhou Yu's apprentice. This was probably how it always was for him. Liang turned his eyes to the fight about to begin, a match pitting brother against sister. As the match began it was obvious to him that Nu Wa was obviously blessed with the battle prowess where Fu Xi received the intellectual side. She easily raced across the small dirt patch and attacked him, mercilessly. Xi never raised his blade all that far and had no choice but to block her endless attacks. The Wu camp was stunned; they didn't think it was going to be such an uneven match. Wa knocked him down and kicked him in the ass.

"Get up you wus!"

Xi threw his hefty sword across the field. "DAMMIT!"

"Fight's over honey!" Tong hollered, trying to calm her down with the soothing sound of his voice.

"It never even began." She hissed and stormed away from her brother.

Xi sat up and watched Gan Ning bring his sword back. "Thanks." He looked up to see Lady Sun's vicious glare at his sister.

"Some things never change…" Wa mumbled as she past by the stunned Sun Jian and kissed her husband.

"Now Wa…" Tong admonished her, "He has his strengths. You always told me how good he was at numbers and writing."

"Well reciting poems and balancing the books doesn't save you on the battlefield. Won't win a war either." She smiled at Sun Jian. "Sorry to humiliate your officer, sir."

"Well…..it was nice to see your skill." He couldn't come up with anything else.

"Remind me to never let you spar with Zilong." Liu Bei looked over at her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm going to go talk to your brother again." Tong rubbed Wa's hand. "Maybe you could convince our fearless leader to dance with you."

Liu Bei smiled sweetly and glanced over at his own wife preparing to dance with her father. "I was going to ask…but I didn't know if you knew how."

"Yeah, Lu Bu taught me." She stood up and squeeze Tong's hand as he pulled away to talk to her idiot brother.

"Lu Bu, as it 'Who else seeks death' Lu Bu?" Guan Yu raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah. He was trying to help Xi turn me into something marketable. I guess I shouldn't say that, he was very understanding about it."

"Did you used to dance like Zhang Fei?" Zhao Yun smiled. It was an innocent question, they all made fun of Zhang Fei together.

"So now I'm an overweight drunk?" Wa asked and Yun shut up.

"Alright my lady, I'm going to have to demand your attention for the next five minutes. I am very selfish when it comes to dancing partners." Liu Bei kissed her hand and bowed. "Shall we?"

"Of course my lord."

Wa tried to keep her eye on Tong but Bei was doing his best to block her view. "He'll be fine."

"But…."

"You're being rude." Liu Bei smiled.

"Then why are you smiling?"

"I can't help it. You're a very charming woman."

"Hmmmm….I don't think I've ever heard that one before."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Back for more?" Fu Xi leaned back. "Without protection this time. I'm impressed."

"Xi, look, I know you don't like me. I understand that. I just don't want you and Wa to be at odds over it, please, you used to be close." Tong sat down across from him.

"We both know my sister well enough to know that is a ridiculous plea. She will hate anyone that dislikes you. I don't like you. That pretty much sums it up."

"I wish it didn't have to be like this." Tong sighed.

"Then you should have never married her."

"Xi, she is happy. That's what matters."

"My sister deserves a hell of a lot more than you can ever give her."

"If she every asked…." Tong began to say.

"Look. The case in point is that you joined the one army that is most likely to be annihilated. You are endangering her. Wei has the professional army, Wu the regal army and Shu has an army of rabble. What do you hope to achieve following Liu Bei? You will only die, taking Wa with you. Is that what you want?"

"I disagree. Liu Bei is a just man and his army may not be perfect but it is loyal and full of heart. You would rather her be fighting alongside Zhang Liao and Cao Cao wouldn't you?"

"Anywhere that is not next to you."

"I'm sorry Xi." Tong stood up. "I wish that you could do this for her."

"Not while you're alive."

"Sorry for wasting your time then." Tong shook his head and left.

"You are awfully hard on the guy." Sun Ce looked over at his friend. "Geez, he loves her a lot! Give him some slack."

"I can't. He doesn't deserve her."

"Man, the guy would do anything for her!" Gan Ning punched his buddy's shoulder. "You gotta see that."

"Then he should have stayed in his shack and kept her out of this. My sister is blind to danger, he knows that."

"He'd protect her! Just like I'd protect Da!" Ce answered. He felt really bad for the short guy.

"With his magic rain stick?" Xi shook his head. "No, she is the fighter, him the brains. He'd try, but in the end she will be the one shielding him. There is no place in a war for someone who cannot hold his own on the battlefield."

"Dude, you just got your ass kicked by a girl. I wouldn't be chanting that mantra too loud." Ning chuckled and ignored the evil stare he got in return.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Alright, let's take a look around." Tong put his arm around Wa's shoulder.

"About time. I was beginning to think you wanted to stare at the Qiao's some more."

"Now don't you start. That's my game, get your own. Speaking of, Lu Xun's got dewy eyes on you too."

"You're the only one who likes the younger crowd, Shiyuan."

"Heheheh, I do." He kissed her and walked down the hall. As they rounded the corner Tong thought he heard a 'moo'. Before he could say anything, Zhou Tai swung open the door to his bedroom and began pulling a dairy cow out. "Kinky." Tong pushed his hat up with his finger and giggled.

"This isn't what it seems." Tai looked down at the cow who looked up at him and mooed.

"You know," Wa patted the cow on the head. "They say no one buys the cow if they get the milk for free."

Tong laughed. "Maybe he just likes big udders."

Tai coughed uncomfortably. He didn't know how to explain his way out of this. Telling the odd couple that it was there when he got here wasn't going to fly. Although the culprits would pay. "We have some immature officers here."

"I bet I know who you're speaking of." Wa smirked and took the lead rope from him. "You don't seem to know much about livestock, General."

"I'm a sea captain….I don't really deal with animals that well."

"Well…."Tong looked at the cow's confused eyes as his wife coaxed her out of Tai's bedroom. "I happen to be quite good at payback, if you're interested." He smiled.

"I was just going to beat them up."

"Where's the fun in that?" Tong asked.

"I kind of liked that idea." Wa frowned.

"Come on! Like you said earlier, it's been a while sine we pulled a prank." Tong kissed her and saw her smile.

"Well….all right." Tai moved away from the cow as she licked his hand.

"You won't regret it buddy!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tong led Wa outside into the garden where Zhou Yu was playing his flute for his wife.

"HI!" Xiao shouted happily interrupting her husband's personal recital.

Zhou Yu turned around annoyed. He could never get any time alone with Xiao anymore. "Good evening. Am I bothering you?"

"Sorry, we were just looking around." Wa smiled at the Wu strategist, it was obvious that they had walked in on something.

"You can sit and listen with me!" Xiao offered. "Zhou Yu is really good!"

"Tong can sing really well." Wa boasted.

"Well….." Tong grinned at Yu. Both men knew there was no way out of the situation.

"What would you like to sing?" Zhou Yu asked and Xiao began to bounce with happiness.

Xiao clapped and patted the bench beside her. "Isn't this exciting Nu Wa! A concert just for us!"

"Just don't get any ideas….the short one's mine." Wa smiled and sat down.

Zhou Yu smiled and began to play. Xiao squeaked with excitement.

Tong cleared his throat and began to sing in his warm baritone voice.


	4. Turbulence

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 4

**Turbulence **

**

* * *

**

Liu Bei walked cautiously down the hallway. Shang had told him she was planning on using her old room for them, since her father would disapprove of the separate sleeping arrangements. He had no idea what was in store for him. He knocked gently, "Shang Xiang, dear, can I come in?"

"Might as well." She answered.

Liu Bei opened the door and was immediately struck by the reality of her weapons fetish. Her walls were covered in ever weapon imaginable, from floor to ceiling. On the ceiling was a pair of crossed swords and a shield. He could see her happiness at his discomfort. "So this is your room."

"Yes. You sleep over there." She pointed to a small couch.

"I was hoping we could talk about us for a bit." He sat down on his 'bed' and immediately sunk into it. Maybe he should just sleep on the floor.

"There is no 'us'." She snapped.

"What did I do wrong?" he asked hoping she would shed some light on why she hated him so very much.

"You agreed to this stupid arrangement. I never liked you, why would I ever love you?"

"What is it about me that you don't like?"

"Everything." She blew out the candle. "Now are you going to let me get some rest, or do I need to send you to sleep in the barn?"

Bei sighed and threw the blanket on the floor and lay down in his regular clothes. He knew better than to try and rummage for his nightshirt.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pang Tong read through his worn copy of the _Art of War_. The margins were littered with his comments and the pages a bit tattered, but he refused to find another copy. He glanced down at his chest were his wife was sleeping and smiled. She never took to learning like Yue Ying had; she couldn't care what some dead guy had to say about how to fight a war. Nu Wa had her own theory. Move fast, poke holes in everything and ask questions later. There were times when he wished she would show some interest in his passion, but then she wouldn't be Nu Wa. He took his hand and pet her head. Was Fu Xi right? Could she have had a better life with someone else? Or was Nu Wa right when she said Xi was only trying to use her to gain influence. He never questioned himself before they arrived in Wu. She was always so happy, with just him, she still was. But now he was becoming increasingly aware of the attention she was getting from the fellow generals and he couldn't help but wonder if she'd be better off.

As he gently ran his hand over her rich brown hair, she smiled and pressed her head further into his bare chest and hugged him tighter. He thought back to the day when he brought her home. They had stopped off in town to say hello to Zhuge Liang and Yue Ying since they were passing through.

_"Hey, Kongming you home?" Tong hated trying to find the young genius. He was always hiding from everyone, annoyed with the intrusions into his hermit lifestyle. Tong never blamed him, once people found out where the smart guy lived they always came looking for answers._

_"Hello Tong." Ying greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and immediately looked over at his new wife. "Don't tell me she followed you home."_

_"Kinda." He giggled and blushed a bit. These were the first people he actually had to tell. "I got married."_

_"Nooo." Ying laughed and hollered over her shoulder. "Get out of that study Kongming! You won't believe this!"_

_"If it's that buffoon asking why milk isn't cow pee I'm divorcing you." Liang shuffled out with his war fan just in case. "Tong!"_

_"Hey old friend."_

_"What brings you by….who's that?" Liang looked over Tong's head and looked at Wa. She looked back with her typical disdainful glare._

_"I believe that is his wife." Ying smiled excitedly. "Although the rude sage hasn't introduced us yet."_

_"Wife?" Liang looked down at him. "What happened?"_

_"I just feel in love…Wa, come over and meet my friends." He watched her smile brighten her face as she came over to join him. Immediately she grabbed his arm, she had the need to be in constant contact with him. He grinned as he introduced his old classmate and she politely greeted them. After some tea and cookies, Liang began his customary interrogation. Tong gave Ying a knowing wink, she'd understand later._

_"So Nu Wa, I have to admit this all comes a surprise to Ying and I."_

_"Why?" she asked coldly._

_Liang was slightly put off. "Well as long as I have known Tong, he never seemed too interested in getting married."_

_"What are you implying?" _

_"Nothing….."Liang readjusted himself in his chair and gave Tong a sly look. "How did you meet?"_

_"You'd just love for me to tell you I was on a street corner wouldn't you?"_

_Tong busted out laughing. "Oh go easy on him honey! He's not used to anyone who bites back."_

_Liang huffed. "Now what is that implying?"_

_"That you are usually the instigator, darling." Ying giggled. "Now Wa, please, I'm dying to know. Where did you two meet?"_

_Tong smiled at Liang through the entire story about the well and Lu Bu. At the end he leaned back in his chair and added. "I just lucked out."_

_"I'm glad you have finally found someone who makes you happy." Liang smiled at them both. "I hope you have many good years together."_

_"So what are your plans?" Ying asked._

_"Well I have to show my sweetie her new palace." Tong rubbed her hand. "Then I guess we do what I've always done. Not very much."_

_"I can't wait." Wa beamed. He could still remember how very happy she seemed…and how very frightened he was. The likelihood of her taking to his secluded lifestyle was slim, especially when she was used to the busy capital city. To his surprise she instantly took to his recluse life and enjoyed every second of it. He finally asked her if there was anything she wanted, he would gladly find a way to get it for her. She simply responded with, "I don't want anything but you. I have you, I'm happy."_

He looked down at her young face. How lucky, indeed. Fate had brought them together….and fate had also led them to Liu Bei. Wu had refused his services and Kongming's letter had arrived two days later. What would this war have in store for them? Fu Xi was right, she would get herself into trouble quickly if he didn't watch himself. Perhaps now was the time to try and break her of the bad habit of insulting everyone. Well, except for Zhao Yun, even he didn't have that kind of influence. Poor man, he was just trying so damned hard. While he was thinking about it…it might not be such a bad time to ask Kongming for a small favor. Fate had a nasty habit of not playing fair, he had to make sure he thought ahead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pang Tong smirked as Sun Ce, Fu Xi and Gan Ning all walking into the dining hall. The three men were all various shades of purple. "I think I should have turned them green. More team spirited."

Wa smiled. "You had to go with the dye didn't you?"

"Well it's an old but true favorite." He chuckled. "Tai told me about this pond they go play in the mornings. Probably to relieve some of the hangover issues from the previous night.

"I'm surprised my brother goes near water. I always thought he had a phobia of cleanliness."

"Same for Ce." Zhou Yu past by. "Nice."

Tong laughed as the strategist strolled by without a hint of emotion. "Well we should finish up our strategy talks today."

"Good. I want to fight."

"As always." Tong kissed her neck. "My little spitfire."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So it is decided." Zhou Yu slammed his folder shut. "We will go forward with the fire attack."

"And I will call the winds." Zhuge Liang bowed his head respectfully as he mentioned the magic.

"And I'll defect and link those blasted ships." Tong stretched. "My poor wife will be so distressed to learn she'll have to leave Wu early. She's having such a good time tormenting her brother."

"I was unaware that Xi was afraid of frogs." Lu Xun nodded. "Until I saw his sister flinging them at him and him running and screaming like a girl."

"Well unleash your wife on Wei, Pang Tong." Zhou Yu nodded. "Good luck."

"It's been nice. Bye!" Tong shuffled out and went to fetch his wife.

"I will remember the frog thing though. Next time he teases me about my age by god…."

"Xun." Yu scolded. _Not in front of the other side!_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Liu Bei rode along next to his father-in-law in utter silence. He was exhausted. All he could do last night was toss and turn on the nasty old floor of Sun Shang Xiang's childhood bedroom. Now he was out hunting with Sun Jian and the wily old Wu leader was bound to ask how things were faring on the marriage front.

"So how are you two getting along?" Jian asked.

"Shang misses her family a lot." Bei decided to make blanket statements. That way when Shang refused to leave with him, he had a good reason.

"Well that was to be expected."

"I worry that she is not fitting in well with Shu. She is always so distant, thinking of her family here."

"Just she can be that way."

"I also worry for her safety. Maybe once we secure some territory of our own…."

"I would very much like to have her stay with us. "Jian smiled. "I miss my baby girl."

"And she misses you. I think it would do wonders for her spirits."

"You do not mind?"

"No, Jian, I want what is best for her."

"Excellent! Ce and Quan will be thrilled!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey!" Tong waved at Liang, "Got a minute?"

"Of course." He smiled.

"Can I ask you for a favor?"

Liang rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmmm."

"I'm serious for once." Tong lowered his voice and moved Liang over to the shade of a small tree.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing…I just was wondering…." He cleared his throat. "If something happened to me, do you think you could look after Wa for me?"

Liang was shocked. Tong was always so jovial and even he, his closest friend, rarely saw him with such a grim expression on his face. "Do you have a bad feeling about this? If you do, we should change our plans…"

"No No." Tong shook his head. "I've been meaning to ask…I just never got around to it. I worry about her. If anything ever happened to me she'd need someone to step in and stop her from doing something rash. If you don't want to…"

"Tong. I would be glad to do that for you. I just hope I never have to."

"Thanks." Tong let his ever present smile return. "Well looks like we're got a ride ahead of us."

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"So do I have to wear blue now?" Wa rode along the small road next to her husband.

"No. You just have to act like you always do." Tong smiled. "Let me do the work, eh?"

"I guess you are the better liar." She smiled.

"Liar? I prefer storyteller."

"So will this work? There seem to be so many things that have to go right."

"Yes, but that's what you get when you have four strategists locked in a room for days on end. Hey look a rider!" Tong heard his wife grunt.

"Great it's Zhang Liao."

"Crap. Now I have to keep your hands off Wei people!"

Zhang Liao galloped up ready to be gruff and inhospitable, but his demeanor changed instantly. "Oh…..Nu Wa! Or has and angel been sent to tease me?"

Zhang He looked at the man who must have been possessed by some demon. What the hell was wrong with Liao? "Liao…are you feeling alright?"

"Hi Liao." Wa said dryly as he rode over and kissed her hand lingering way too long.

"As if it were possible….you are more beautiful than the last time my unworthy eyes gazed upon you."

Zhang He's mouth dropped open. Even he wouldn't spit out such a cheesy line. He couldn't think of anything to say…it just blew his mind. So he sat there and watched the brave Zhang Liao grovel.

"Liao, you never met my husband did you?" Wa looked him dead in the eye.

Liao looked over at Tong. "Sir, you must be the luckiest man in the world."

"Pang Tong, nice to meet you!" Tong held out his hand.

"A pleasure." Liao shook it.

"Maybe they'd like to meet Cao Cao?" Zhang He suggested.

"That would be nice." Wa tried to move her horse way from Liao's dopey smile.

"Maybe Sima Yi can restore your sanity while we're at it." He turned around and trotted back down the road. That was about all he could take of that nonsense.


	5. Legend Mode!

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 5

**Legend Mode!**

**

* * *

**  
In Wei…….

"If we chain the ships together….then we'd be more vulnerable to a fire attack." Sima Yi looked over at Cao Cao. He knew his opinion didn't count for all that much right now; he was just some smart young kid at the moment. He was trying desperately to make a name for himself, but Cao Cao was not a man to respect youth.

"Yes….but what Pang Tong suggests will go along way to strengthening our attack. If we are unlinked, we are unable to reinforce one another. We might as well attack everyone individually." Cao Cao looked over at the young man. Someday he would make a good strategist, but he need more experience first.

"It would increase moral as well." Tong smiled. "The men will be more at ease with fighting on stabilized boats."

"Then we go with Pang Tong's suggestion. You will carry out your plan." Cao nodded- his form of a dismissal.

"Well honey, we're off to work." Tong nudged his wife.

"Good. I hate sitting around." She trotted off after he husband.

"And you lost out to him?" Xiahou Dun asked Zhang Liao.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This sucks." Wa crossed her arms and looked over at Tong. The battle was happening before their eyes, yet they were nowhere near it.

"We have a job to do dear." Tong kissed her. "I'm sure you can fight later."

"Still….I could go kick the crap out of my brother. I think they're suspicious of us." She smiled.

"Nice try." Tong sat down on a crate. "About the only thing anyone noticed about our arrival was Zhang Liao."

"Poor Liao." She shrugged. "He really is a nice guy. Just a nice guy for someone else."

"Well I can't say I'm disappointed I didn't ask Wei for a job. These guys are boring." Tong knocked an empty musou wine jug around with his staff.

"Can we go home now? This sucks."

"Wait for Huang Gai dear."

"Awwww."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back at the Allied Camp…….

"I bet Yue Ying is still a virgin. I can't imagine that guy touching any woman, even if he married one." Gan Ning threw a coin in the broken musou jug. He yawned and sniffed the burning barges; the battle had gone really well.

"Why do all you Wu people hate him so much?" Zhao Yun asked curiously.

"Cause Zhou Yu does." Sun Ce answered. "He's just pissy about a lot of things."

"Well." Zhang Fei snorted and threw a coin in the jug. "I bet that Liang sees more action than Bei. Your princess is a bitch."

"Out of all the women in Shu, I'd have to say the one most worthy of attention is Nu Wa. I can't imagine Tong being able to really be able to handle her…." Yun looked at Gan Ning's toothy grin. "Oh god, she's behind me isn't she?"

"Damned right I am you whorish bastard!" Wa smashed an empty jug over his head. "How dare you talk about me like that!"

"Aww." Yun rolled away, head aching. "Sorry….we were just…talking."

"I know! Don't talk about me! Don't look at me! Don't talk to me! Get back here, I'm not done with you." Wa ran off after Yun and all the other boys heard was a loud "OUCH!"

"You're wrong about Kongming." Tong coughed unexpectedly. "He and Ying actually woke Wa up once. And she slept through a mudslide ripping the kitchen off our house."

"I don't believe it." Ning huffed as Fei helped himself to the cash.

"You better pal! Those two kids are hermits for a reason. Everyone else moved away." Tong grinned and left to join his friend.

"In that case…you owe me more money!" Fei pushed Ning and laughed.

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"Welcome home Shiyuan." Kongming looked up with weary eyes.

"That magic stuff still takes a lot out of you huh?" Tong punched Liang playfully.

"Makes me feel old." Liang stumbled a little. "And sleepy."

"Well then come to bed. I have a hot water bottle and some tea ready for you in your tent." Ying gently pulled his hair back and combed it with her fingers.

"I better go find my wife before she breaks Zhao Yun." Tong smiled knowingly. "Good night."

"Tong?" Liang looked up with a smile.

"Yeah?"

"Nice work."

"Not too bad yourself, friend." Tong giggled. "Took your time doing it…but not bad."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

War Council the next week…….

"I just don't see it as being a wise move right now!" Liang screamed and got red in the face as Liu Bei looked back to the shorter strategist.

"Of course you don't!" Tong snapped agitated. "You never want to take the offensive."

"We have limited numbers Tong; we can not afford such a risky venture!"

Liu Bei looked over at the worried Yue Ying sitting about thirty feet away from them. She was disturbed by how quickly the two strategists had descended into a screaming match, it was written all over her face. Then there was Nu Wa who was standing by a tree with her vicious eyes boring a hole in Zhuge Liang's head. She wanted to attack, Bei could see her hand clenching her rapier, but she wouldn't move until Tong called her, she had that much restraint. Bei looked back at Kongming; he was amazed at how snide he could be when he got offended. Really there wasn't a whole lot that started the argument, they were just getting competitive and suggesting strategies. But the war was beginning to take its toll on both of them and fuses were very short. A simple debate turned ugly in a matter of minutes. The most amazing thing was watching Pang Tong get fired up. It took a while, but once the sage got mad his remarks were very scathing.

"You always play it safe Liang, that's why we do nothing but run away and loose territory." Tong growled.

"So you want our lord to attack his own family? Just for land?"

"Land means reinforcements and supplies. Not to mention recognition!"

"So is that what you're after, Tong? Fame?"

"Yes that's right Kongming! All I want is glory, that's why I took this position. So I can deal with your ego on my way to becoming the next Sun Tzu! You ass."

"Gentlemen…" Liu Bei raised his hands in a plea for quiet. "There has to be some other way of settling this."

"Actually there may be." Tong smirked.

"A test of wits, perhaps?"

"Winner's strategy will be the one chosen." Tong smiled.

"What do you have in mind?"

"You defend the damned stronghold…you can take Yue Ying along so she can fight for you. I will attack, with my wife by my side. We will see who's method of war wins."

"Deal."

Liu Bei looked to them both. "If you insist."

Tong jumped up and left the table to be with his wife. "I ought to pound that smug look off his face." Tong smacked his staff against his hand.

"If he's insulted you…" Wa turned to march over to the haughty looking Kongming. "That worthless son of a…."

"No, honey." Tong grabbed he wife's arm and pulled her into him. "Easy."

"No, if he's done some wrong then he will pay!"

"Shhhhh." He forgot how quick she was to defend him. "It's fine, just a little argument."

"He's trying to keep you down, trying to…."

"Wa, forget about it." He smiled and kissed her nose. "We're going to work it out like a game of chess. I'm just frustrated; you know how cocky Kongming can be."

"So I get to help?"

"Of course." Tong smiled and kissed her. "Why would I ever leave you behind? Honey?"

"Yes?"

"Remember what I said about your insults, huh? Watch what you say about people."

"I will…I promise."

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"Alright Fan Castle is the battlefield. Zhuge Liang is hiding in his castle and Ying is back here with her juggernauts." Tong looked over at his wife. "So go take them both away. We can't let him have his toys now can we?"

"You classify Yue Ying as a toy…..never mind." Wa shook her head remembering that night years ago when they stayed the night at Kongming's farm.

"I'll move up north and seal this gate before reinforcements arrive."

"Why does he get the army?" Wa asked.

"Because I'm the troublemaker." Tong kissed her. "Just be happy Ying is the only general we have to deal with."

"Ok, I'll take the juggernauts and chase her off. Be careful." She smiled at his warmly. She couldn't have been more proud of him.

"Let's settle this then."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yue Ying waited patiently for Nu Wa to come. She knew the woman would ignore the soldiers and ride up on her quick, she just didn't realize how quick.

In an instant Ying was flying across the stronghold and into one of her creations.

"I'm here to take this for my husband."

"You won't get them without a fight." Ying stood and dusted her long dress off.

"Good." Wa grinned.

Soon the two women were beating on each other, but once Wa ran in close most of Ying's moves were worthless. All she could do was block against the lightning fast moves of the angry woman. Ying was no match for her and she eventually had to run off. "I'm sorry my husband…."

"Tong will be happy." Wa looked at the ugly juggernaut and shrugged. Stupid contraptions were what took the joy out of battle.

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Tong was slowly picking his way through the guards and working his way to the arbalests that lay ahead by the bridge. He looked up startled by the sudden appearance of his wife ahead of him. "Hey, sweetie….what's up?"

"Oh…I went around the opposite way and cleared out all the people for you. I took over the arbalest up north…and that one back there. Plus I got some siege ramps. They're over on the east side of the castle. Everyone else is gone except for the people on the inside. That's what you wanted right?"

"Well….yeah." Tong smiled as she killed off the last man attacking him. "I guess tonight everyone will see what they were missing by not sending us into battle, huh?"

"You want to kick the crap out of Liang? I don't think it's fair if I do."

Tong giggled. "Alright. I guess you do have a point. This defeat will be embarrassing enough without getting beaten up by a girl."

"Then all keep the millions of bodyguards off of you."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You have surprised me Tong." Liang held his fan close ready to fight.

"Well, I have to say, I am sorry it had to come to this. But you can't talk down to people all the time…especially those you count as friends."  
"So you are here to teach me a lesson?" Liang fanned himself lightly. "Then if you win this contest I will accept this lesson in humility."

"Then no hard feelings?" Tong asked.

"May the best strategist win….for Shu." Liang smiled and prepared himself to fight.

Wa wiped out the men surrounding them and stood on the rooftop tapping her foot. "Enough already! Fight!"

"I have to make the wife happy." Tong shrugged and raised his staff.

Liu Bei watched from the castle wall. The two strategists zapped each other with blasts of light and ran around hitting each other with the unique weapons they carried. He was impressed with Tong's performance….but more so with Nu Wa's. Even now with the final battle taking place he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Why couldn't he get her off his mind? She was married, he was married….he was supposed to be virtuous. A noble and caring leader. He looked up as Tong smacked Liang off the roof and Wa leapt into his arms, the victor. Now he was going to attack his own family and try and claim the Shu lands, as Tong suggested. How noble indeed.


	6. Soaring Into Shu

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 6

**Soaring into Shu**

**

* * *

**

"Tong!" Zhuge Liang rushed over. "Where have you been?"

"We went to capture the supply depot, what's wrong?" Tong had asked that Liang be sent ahead to the Shu lands while he and Guan Yu secured food for their army. He didn't want the men taking from the people of the region; they would need all the support they could muster.

"We have run into a problem." Liang sighed. "And that problem would be named Ma Chao."

"Who?"

"He's the prefect of XiLiang."

"That's along ways away from here." Tong scratched his head. "What's he want?"

"Well the problem I see is that he should be fighting for us and not against us." Liang looked over at his friend. "Shiyuan, he fought with Zhang Fei for two days and they came out in a draw. We need to bring him over to our side!"

"I agree. Why is he fighting us?"

"Cao Cao had his family killed so he captured Chang An and…."

"He captured Chang An? Damn." Tong smiled. "No wonder you're so excited."

Liang chuckled. It was good to have his friend home, he was afraid they would be at odds because of the little challenge at Fan Castle. However it was all water under the bridge and Liang had resumed his role as chief advisor as soon as they marched towards Cheng Du. Getting his ass kicked around was all he needed to beat some sense into his thick skull…..he was getting cocky. That was something he would leave for the self-centered like Zhou Yu. That emotion had no place in this camp, especially when he was dealing with his most trusted friend. "I suppose I am a bit anxious. I was hoping you might go talk to him. You have a very appealing persona."

"Ahhh.. So you're sending me on a suicide mission. That's right, get rid of the competition." Tong nudged Liang with his elbow.

"I figured if you could calm down Nu Wa, this pissed off cavalryman should be a cakewalk."

"You have a point. Well where is this fellow?"

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"Easy there buddy!" Tong blocked Ma Chao's strike with his staff. "I came here to talk."

"I talk with my spear!" Chao readied himself for another blow at the weird man.

"Well why don't you do that 'talking' for Liu Bei. Huh? Why don't you join us and fight for the greater good? He is a virtuous man, surely a guy you'd like!"

"Why would he want me as an officer?"

"Well you fought Zhang Fei for two days and ended up in a draw. That kiddo, is impressive-more so when he's actually sober!"

"So this Liu Bei will eliminate Cao Cao?" Ma Chao backed off a bit, joining Shu might not be that bad.

"Yup!" Tong nodded then turned as he caught Ma Chao's inquisitive look behind him. "Oh hi honey, I was just trying to convince Ma Chao here to join us."

"Join us or die." Wa raised her rapier and shield, ready to attack.

"Well that's my wife for ya! She can undo all my diplomacy efforts with a mere sentence."

"_Your_ wife?" Chao looked at the pretty little hostile woman. She was married to _him_?

"You have a problem with that?" Wa snapped.

"Easy sweetie!" Tong turned and put his hand on hers to lower her rapier. "You can spar with him later if he decides to join us, okay?"

"One false more and you'll be chatting with your ancestors a lot quicker than you thought." She lowered her weapon but refused to sheath it.

"Okay, so what will it be?" Tong cheerfully asked.

"I'll speak with this Liu Bei of yours, then I will decide." Ma Chao twirled his spear and returned it to his side.

"How impressive, you must have been captain of the baton troop back home." Wa glared at him

"Maybe we ought to put off this meeting until after I've taught you a lesson or two." Chao raised his spear again, how dare she insult him like he was a mere gate captain.

"Think you can handle getting beat by a girl? With no daddy to run home to?" Wa began to push past Tong and raise her weapon.

Chao momentarily allowed his hurt by the mention of his father be seen, but he quickly regained his composure. "Feel my wrath!" He was about to strike at her but a flash of light blinded them both.

Tong finished his light show and hollered at his wife for the first time ever. "ENOUGH! That was completely uncalled for Wa! How you can take advantage of a man's anguish to gain the upper hand is unthinkable! Now apologize."

Wa blinked at him and fought the urge to break down and cry. He had never even raised his voice to her before….."I'm…..I'm sorry." She quivered.

Chao suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. He shouldn't be in the middle of this marital confrontation. "Uh….sure. Let's go see this lord of yours."

"Yes, lets." Tong huffed and pushed past his wife. How she could be so heartless…..

Wa looked at Tong in disbelief. She sheathed her weapon and turned away from Ma Chao head hug low. She did go too far but did she really deserve that? It was just so cruel and he knew what it would do to her. The tears began to well up in her eyes and she bit her lip. "Tong?"

"Not now Wa. I think you've said enough, don't you?"

Chao mounted his horse and trotted after the man, he figured it was best to leave the girl alone. Woman always got so torn up by the most trivial things.

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As soon as they reached camp Liu Bei rode out to meet them. He immediately began to sweet talk Ma Chao and didn't notice Nu Wa sneak off to her tent. Tong also remained uncharacteristically quiet, but the Shu leader was putting his all into the discussion with Ma Chao. By the time they reached headquarters, Liu Bei was introducing his newest general to everyone.

"Wa not come back with you?" Ying asked concerned.

"We had a disagreement." Tong said quietly.

"Really?" She couldn't have been more surprised if meat buns dropped out of the sky and began attacking people. She watched Tong wander off to his tent silently. Tong and Wa arguing, about what? Then she heard Ma Chao laugh at Guan Yu's offhand insult to Zhang Fei. She looked at the new man, what the hell happened up there?

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"Honey?" Tong pushed away the tent flap and heard her muffled sobs.

"I know you're ashamed…you don't have to tell me that." She turned her head away and threw a blanket over her head.

"Wa…." He reached out to touch her, but as soon as he did she moved away from him. "Sweetie, I'm sorry. But you went too far. You saw how much that hurt him. You have to learn to learn that there are limits to what you can say. An insult like that is dishonorable, and that is beneath you. You can only end up embarrassing yourself and our lord…"

"Oh so I'm an embarrassment now?" She sat up and looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face was soaked in tears. More continued to fall.

"No….that's not what I said. Wa please."

"I'm sorry I humiliated you, I was just trying to protect you."

"You were trying to instigate a fight with a potential ally!" He reached for her face; she had never been so hurt before. And it was all his fault.

"Sorry….." She jumped off the bed and ran out of the tent bawling. "Sorry I failed you…."

"Wa!" Tong stood up and tried to grab her but she was too quick. He looked out of his tent and watched her fly out of the compound and into the darkness. Zhuge Liang looked at him concerned as the rest of the officers stared in shock. Nu Wa was the last one any of them expected to be emotional.

"Tong?" Liang swooshed over to him.

"Ugggh." He wiped his face with his hand.

"Ma Chao told me. You were right." Liang put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Then why does it feel so damned wrong?"

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Wa wandered through the dark forest and found a small clearing and sat down. She couldn't stop crying long enough to think about anything. Tong must hate her and rightly so. He was doing his job, trying to win over a good officer for Liu Bei and she had to try and ruin it. Be she wasn't trying to ruin it, it just happened. It happened a lot. She didn't want to go back now; she would only destroy his attempts again. She couldn't help it. It was just how she was, and it was going to ruin the man she loved. He had asked her before not to say things like that and she promised…promised not to do it again. How could she break her word?

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"How long has she been missing?" Liu Bei jumped up astonished.

"Three hours." Tong admitted and sighed.

"And you didn't want to go out looking for her?"

"Sir, I'm the cause of her pain." Tong banged his head on the doorframe. "I knew she'd react that way, why did I say that?"

"She's fine, I'm sure. There isn't anything short of Cao Cao's entire army that could harm her." Liu Bei patted his back. "We'll send out a search party. We'll bring her back."

"That won't be as easy as it sounds."

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Wa sat bleary eyes looking at the stars. Normally she would be sitting in Tong's lap, his warm comforting arms around her, telling her there was nothing to worry about. She had become so used to that she wasn't sure how to handle not having him when she was upset. She felt so alone. Then something felt off and she fell quiet. Something was out there. She slowly unsheathed her sword and in the moonlight her opponent revealed himself.

"Hello, young lady. What are you doing out here, all alone?" Pang De looked at her curiously. He had been waiting with his archer unit in ambush all day, but when Ma Chao surrendered and the battle was lost they remained hidden. De wished to escape to Wei and seek the favor of Cao Cao, he was not at all impressed with Liu Bei or his pitiful army.

"I was trying to be alone, but you had to invade my solitude."

"And why is that?" De drew his weapon as well and waited.

"None of your business." She stood up. "Now who are you and who do you serve."

"Pang De." He looked at her again appreciatively. "I used to fight under Ma Chao but his recent allegiance has left me looking for a new lord."

"Then you are unwilling to join Liu Bei?" She raised her shield.

"That's right."

"Well then you will join the dead." Wa began to slash at him and listened to him whistle a sharp irritating whistle.

"Archers! Fire at will!" De dropped to the ground and Wa stared straight at a crossbow unit, fingers on the triggers.

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Ma Chao galloped through the forest with Pang Tong at his side. He volunteered to go with the sage since he knew the area well and he felt responsible for the girl's disappearance. "We have to be cautious; Pang De is still out here."

"What?"

"He was lying in ambush with his crossbow unit. I asked everyone if they had seen him, but it seems he has chosen a different path. So…." Chao heard the shrill whistle and came to a sliding halt. "That's him."

"Over there!" Tong pointed.

"Hah!" Chao kicked his steed into a full gallop and jumped the foliage that covered the small cove. Without hesitation he scooped up the girl and threw her over his saddle, spun his horse around and galloped out sweeping the archers out of the way with his spear.

"WA!" Tong raced over as she fought Ma Chao fiercely trying to get herself in a less compromising position.

"Put me down you bastard!" she screamed.

"Not until we're in a safer place, follow me!" Chao rode back up the slope as the crossbowman and Pang De jumped out of their hiding spot.

"We will meet again Chao." Pang De crossed his arms and watched the two riders disappear over the hill.

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"PUT ME DOWN!" Wa flailed

"As you wish, my lady." Chao picked her up by the belt and dropped her on the ground.

"Honey!" Tong slid off his horse and wrapped his arms around his wife.

Liu Bei looked over and smiled. "Thank god."

"Get off." Wa threw Tong off of her. She stood up and shook her rapier at Chao. "How dare you."

"How dare I what?" Chao swung his horse back around to meet her furious gaze.

"You think I'm some helpless damsel that needs your rescue?"

"Obviously. Or did you want to be target practice?" Chao rested his spear across his lap.

"You had no business interrupting my fight!"

"Your fight? More like your slaughter."

"I was handling it!"

"Hardly." He leaned down and looked into her face. Nostrils flaring and jaw clenched she still was a pretty sight. "You were handling that as well as you handled your husband's reprimand."

Wa struck at him with her fist and he pulled her back up onto his horse, leg yielded the animal over to the water trough and threw her in. She hit the cold water with a 'plunk' and was immediately submerged. Her rapier flew off to the side in a pile of hay.

Tong watched helplessly. He was still sitting on his ass where she had thrown him. She was losing her temper, just like she did back in the capital with Lu Bu. But Ma Chao was not as amused. "Lord Ma…."

"My apologies Master Pang Tong." Chao bowed to him politely. "I do not take insults or ingratitude lightly. If your wife is an officer in this army, I will treat her as I would any other officer."

"No….I am the one who should apologize." Tong stood up and watched Wa look at him through the wet black hair stuck to her face. "I am sorry that my wife has insulted you."

Wa looked at Tong's eyes, he was embarrassed of her. She had done it again.

"Next time….well let's hope there is no next time." Chao sighed and looked down at Wa. "Don't go running off again."

Wa caught Liu Bei's disappointed look as well. Feeling worse than she did before she crawled out of the through and slushed her way home.

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"Here, you'll catch your death if you don't dry off." Tong wrapped his cloak around her shoulders and watched her look away. He sat down next to her and rubbed her back.

Wa sat on the dirt floor of the tent, knees up to her chest crying again. She didn't want to look at him; she was proving to be a terrible wife and officer.

"Do you want to sit on my lap?" Tong asked hopefully.

Wa shook her head and wrapped his cloak around herself tighter.

"Not saying anything at all isn't going to help either. You still have a very hostile look about you." Tong brushed the wet strands of hair from her face. "I almost lost you darling; I've never been so scared in my entire life."

"I was fine." She muttered between sobs.

"I'm sorry about everything I said. I didn't mean to yell." Tong sighed. "I'm just getting worn out leading this expedition on my own."

"You were right and I continue to embarrass you. Sorry……maybe you'll be able to find a more suitable wife in Cheng Du." She began to cry again.

"What?" Tong pulled her head towards him and kissed her. "I have never wanted anyone but you. I never will. Unless this is just some kind of ploy to get rid of me so you can go after Ma Chao? Heh? I thought so, Zhao Yun isn't enough for you is he? You're trying to create a harem aren't you?"

Wa smiled a bit. "Where do you get such crazy ideas?" She rested her head on his shoulder, then crawled into his lap. "I love you and only you, for all eternity."

"If eternity is until we find another young general to complete your collection." He smiled as she playfully hit him. "Come, darling; let's get you out of these wet clothes."

She looked up at him as he carried her over to the bed. Sitting alone in the forest had made her realize how utterly horrible her existence would be if he wasn't there with her. Tong set her down and began to go through their trunk for a clean dry set of clothes. "Shiyuan, forget about it. Come to bed."

Tong lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow. "You're not going to pretend I'm one of your harem men are you?"

"You stupid man." She jumped off the bed onto him. "Help me out of my clothes and I'll prove you're the only man I'll ever want."


	7. Fallen Phoenix

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 7

**The Fallen Phoenix**

**

* * *

**

Two weeks later………….

"So Wei Yan and Huang Zhong, how are you liking our army?" Liu Bei asked. The two new officers had found their way to his camp this last week. Two weeks in Shu territory and he already had three new generals. This was a good plan.

"Who?" Fei asked jokingly as he returned to his conversation with Zhong.

Zhong chuckled. "I think it suits me fine."

Wei Yan looked up from his talk with Nu Wa. "Like…Shu." He looked over at Nu Wa who he had met upon his arrival. She was the first woman in ages that had not bee repulsed by him and he made an effort to befriend her. Huang Zhong's companionship was nice, but she was young and not as abusive. He like her crazy little husband a lot too, he seemed to be on the ball. They were a very kind and funny couple, and they always invited him along.

Wa laughed, the wild man had instantly taken a liking to her. "All these new people…are we ever going to attack?"

"We head for Luo Castle!" Tong announced.

"And I will head to Jingzhou, with Ying, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei." Zhuge Liang stood up. "We will begin to secure the province so our victory their will be swift."

"Less time for them to react and reinforce." Tong smiled. "Sound like a good plan?"

"Of course." Liu Bei nodded. It was a very good strategy. How luck he was to have two competent strategists. After the Fan Castle contest, they both fell into a deeper understanding of their positions within the army. Pang Tong supported Zhuge Liang 100 and in return Kongming was a bit more open-minded when it came to tossing around ideas. He turned his attention to Nu Wa who was glowing with excitement. The morning after her episode, she was back to clinging to Tong's cloaked form and everything was back to normal. How odd that she was so affected by such a little thing as him raising his voice….whereas Sun Shang Xiang would have jumped at the chance to leave if he had ever yelled at her.

"So what is the plan for us then?" Zhao Yun stood and looked to Tong for instructions.

"Well. You and Ma Chao are going to lead the attack on the castle. Wei Yan and Huang Zhong attack the fields across the river. Liu Bei, Nu Wa and I will scout these mountain passes for any sign of their reinforcements."

"It's nice to be included in battle plans every once and a while." Liu Bei smiled.

"Oh…I think Wa will be accompanying you." Tong grinned. "We can't have either one of you running around loose."

"Very well." He rolled his eyes although thrilled with the assignment. He was instantly overwhelmed with guilt…why was he so damned excited about being left alone in the woods with her? It's not like anything would happen. Dammit, why couldn't he get her off his mind? He just appreciated her, that was all.

"Any questions?" Tong asked.

"Nope." Guan Yu shook his head. "Let's move out."

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The little chestnut mare balked as Pang Tong reached the fork in the road and he easily slipped out of the saddle. Liu Bei was down next to him in an instant. "Are you alright?"

"Ouch, I wonder what made her do that?" Tong sat up as Nu Wa reached him.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" She dusted him off and knelt beside him.

"Your horse is green, you should take mine. He's well trained and fast." Liu Bei grabbed Hex Mark's reins and smiled.

"Oh that's not necessary." Tong jumped up.

"Please, I insist. I'll take your mare." He wrapped Tong's hands around the reins and leapt into the saddle of the chestnut before he could protest.

"Well, I better get him back to you in one piece then. I definitely can't afford to replace him."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Wa asked, reluctant to leave her husband for the first time in battle.

"Nah, I'm just scouting. Keep our lord safe, ok?" He kissed her and got into the saddle. "Off to work then."

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Tong trotted along the small mountain pass above the fields where the rest of the Shu army was attacking. The grey horse, Hex Mark, was a very good purchase. He'd have to remember to compliment Liu Bei on his keen eye. Tong had never ridden a horse with such a smooth gait before; it was an incredible difference from that stubborn chestnut mare.

"I don't like the looks of this place sir." Sima Shi looked around. "It's a mighty nice place for an ambush."

"What is the name of this place?" Tong looked around at the cliffs and got a bad feeling.

"The fallen Phoenix slope." Sima Shi answered

"Ohhhh, Wa I'm sorry."

"Sir?" Shi looked back and his eyes suddenly grew wide. "Down! Archers!"

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"What fool gallops through the thick forest like this?" Liu Bei asked Nu Wa as they turned, hearing hoof beats.

"Ma Chao probably." She smiled as Bei laughed.

Then Hex Mark burst through the trees nostrils flaring and covered in blood. He carried no rider but halted before his owner and looked around wild eyed. For a few moments neither of them said anything as they stared at the horse.

Wa saw her lord turn to her with tears in his eyes, for her. "Oh god, Tong." She burst into a run and disappeared into the trees.

"Wait!" Liu Bei jumped onto his exhausted and terrified horse and ran after her.

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She saw a massacre when she finally found the road and about six archers looking down at the bodies they were standing in. "You think that's Liu Bei?" asked the head archer as he kicked a body.

"Who else would have a horse that nice?" the other answered.

"DIE!" Nu Wa ripped into the half dozen archers and tore them to shreds by the time Liu Bei made his appearance. Once they lay at her feet she saw her lord slowly dismount his steed and look at a lone figure surrounded by blood. Wa raced over and saw his cloak first and by the time she reached him she was on her knees. "Tong!"

Liu Bei could do nothing as she frantically tried to find signs of life. She completely missed the dozen arrows sticking out of his chest. "Nu Wa…"

"No!" she tossed his hat off and felt his face, which had already begun to cool. "Shiyuan, open your eyes, please…"

"He's gone." Liu Bei touched her shoulder as Wei Yan burst out of the trees. The wild looking general stopped where he was and didn't advance, he knew he was too late. Dammit! He had seen them moving into position from the fields below…..if he could have only gotten here sooner.

"Shiyuan, this isn't funny." She began to panic a bit and choked on her words. It was one of his jokes, it had to be. "Come on, you can't go pulling pranks in the middle of a battle."

"Wa…"Bei knelt down next to her. He looked over the sage's small body and began to feel the tears welling in his eyes. "He's…gone."

"Stop saying that!" She screamed at him and turned to see his forlorn look. She finally realized that she was kneeling in his blood and that there were arrows….everywhere. Slowly she took in the reality of everything and reached out to touch one of the arrows in his chest. It was fixed….it was no prank. This was real…and the horror began to sink in. She began to cry a bit as she touched his face again, he was always so warm but now his skin was so cool. "No….."

"I'm sorry." Bei could only say the typical words that meant nothing and could be of no comfort. What else could he say?

"I was suppose to protect you….I was supposed to be here with you." She finally broke into tears and buried her head into her dead husband's shoulder. "How could you leave me? Tong…..don't…leave…me…behind!"

Liu Bei knelt down beside her and did his best to comfort her, but he knew it was no use. He had been there before, watching his wife die before his eyes. So he cried with her instead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Pang Tong has fallen." Zhuge Liang put his head against the window as his wife entered the room.

"No…."

"This is truly a great loss." Liang turned and held her. "I suspect his widow will be soon to follow."

"He is….was everything to her." Ying agreed and cried for the man that had always been so kind to her.

"I knew we'd loose people….but why him?" Liang felt his own tears begin to run down his face. The closest friend he had ever had was gone….but he had promised to do something for him, hadn't he? "I promised to look after Nu Wa."

"Then we better abort this campaign and rejoin the main force." Ying clung to her husband, guilty for being thankful it wasn't him lying dead on that field.

"Yes. We all belong together right now."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wa walked into the room again and looked at Tong's ashen face. They were getting ready to bury him and she knew this was the last time she'd be able to see him. Slowly she walked over to him and touched his hand, it was cold and stiff. She pulled back from him and bit her lip. "Shiyuan…I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I want to come with you." She slumped down against the table and looked over at his cloak on the chair. She reached out for it and wrapped herself in the bloody wool garment then took his staff and ran her hands over the smooth gnarled stick. "I'm so hollow without you; I don't want to be anywhere unless it's with you." She glanced back up at the table expecting him to get up and tell her how ridiculous she was. Instead she saw the same pale corpse, laid out ready to be embalmed. "Don't be mad when I come to find you, please? I am meant to be by your side, even in death. I can't be robbed of that."

Ma Chao heard a faint voice coming from the room and peaked in. There was poor little Nu Wa talking to her husband. It was a heart wrenching sight and he thanked God that he never had the opportunity to see his father like this. Pang Tong was lying on the table, white and inanimate. The arrows that had been embedded in his chest were in a bucket next to him….and there were so many of them. His tunic was a deep brown from the dried blood and the cloak Nu Wa had wrapped around her was just as bad. The man must have died before he hit the ground, there was no way anyone could have been hit with such a concentrated volley and not have succumbed immediately. He was overwhelmed with grief for the short strategist, he was a good man, but he was more concerned with his young widow. Nu Wa was lost without him and she didn't want to find her way through the misery. "Wa?"

She jumped at the sound of the general's voice. "Sir?"

"How are you?" He asked reluctantly then bent down next to her. She looked almost as bad as her dead spouse.

"Why did he leave me?"

"I kept asking myself the same question." He put his hand on her shoulder. "You have to be strong, especially now, we can't let them down by giving in."

"How did you?" She asked knowing he knew what she was feeling.

"Revenge." He sat down next to her.

"But what happens after that?" She looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know." He took the cloak off of her and took the staff out of her hands. "But you can't give in."

"He is my life."

"I know." He pulled her up off the floor. "How lucky he was to have someone love him like you do."

Those words struck her and she began bawling again and Chao wrapped his arms around her. She felt him guide her out of the room and before he closed the door she looked at her husband one last time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You….ok?" Wei Yan sat down next to Wa as she looked up at the stars.

"No." she was lost. She didn't even know what day it was or how long she had been up here on the castle wall. Why was he gone? What was she going to do without him? She cried a bit more.

"You…..eat?"

"No." She wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them into her chest.

"Need….Food." Wei Yan grabbed her hand. "Not…..healthy."

"I don't want to."

"Tong…want…. you….eat." He watched her nod and pulled her up to escort her back to the camp.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It is a horrible tragedy." Zhuge Liang said as he stood." We have found a burial place suitable for such a hero…."

"That is not for you to decide." Nu Wa stood up and glared at him.

"She's angry again, that's good." Guan Yu nodded to Liu Bei.

"Not for me." Zhao Yun lamented.

"To be honored with a grave in the center of town is truly…"

"No even going to happen." She slammed her fist on the table. "My husband will be buried at home. On the hill where he sat every night looking at the sky, that is where he would want to be. And that is where I intend to bury him."

"But that is nearly 75 miles away." Zhuge Liang crossed his arms, he had to help her see how ridiculous this was. He couldn't let her do this; Liu Bei would easily cave in to her demands. He couldn't let the army be weakened by this; he couldn't let her be consumed by her grief. He was going to have to let her do what ever she wanted. He sighed.

"I don't care what you do. I'm requesting a week furlough to bring my husband home."

"He has made the ultimate sacrifice for Shu, and for that I cannot allow his funeral to be so…..unattended." Liu Bei added his feelings.

"So you want to bury him on the side of the road? Or in a town where the next army to march through here can desecrate his grave? I promised to protect my husband, an oath that I broke. I at least want to make sure his last wishes are carried out."

"You are an officer of Shu before you are the wife, um widow, of Pang Tong." Zhuge Liang moaned. She was being stubborn and there was no one alive that could convince her otherwise. _Come on Wa, be sensible!_ There was nothing he could do…..

"And I will return to Shu when my duty to my husband is fulfilled." She waved her fist at him

"Enough." Liu Bei stood up. "You will bring you husband home, but he will get the procession he deserves. Gentlemen, I would like volunteers to accompany Pang Tong's body to its final resting place."

Wa watched as every officer stood up and Zhuge Liang closed his eyes. "Thank you….all. Except for you, you bastard." She glared at the strategist.

"We ride tomorrow, if we keep good pace we will make it by noon the next day."

"Please!" Liang retorted. "We cannot abandon our campaign!"

"Fine, if you are that unconfident in your skills as a general then I will leave a few for you to defend this highly fortified city." Liu Bei was furious.

"Well that's not necessary, I have the army here." He watched his lord jump at the chance to protect the woman he secretly fell in love with. Liang suspected Liu Bei didn't even realize what he was feeling.

"Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong. If you do not mind staying behind to protect Zhuge Liang?"

"If you want, sir.." Zhong shook his head.

"Yeah, but if he's gonna be a bitch about it." Fei shrugged.

"Is that suitable for you?" Bei queried.

"Yes, sir." He said quietly and sat down next to Ying who ran her hand over his.

"Maybe it will be good for him." Ying whispered knowing Liu Bei's chivalrous nature. "He adores her; he just wants to help her. Maybe it will help her too."

"Maybe you're right dear. Maybe they need each other." Liang watched as Liu Bei offered his arm to the widow and gave her a comforting smile. "Are we really the only ones who see this?"

"Yes." Ying watched Wa lean into Liu Bei and cry. "I hope she can accept her path. He will be shattered if she refuses him."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You do not need to do this." Wa said as Liu Bei rode up on Hex Mark.

"It is my fault you lost him."

"No, it is mine. I was supposed to protect him."

"If you were there, there was nothing you could have done." He watched her tears well up in her eyes. Quickly he was off his horse and beside her. "I'm sorry."

"I can't believe he's gone. He was only 34, there was so much more time left." She leaned into her lord as he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's ok, cry as much as you want." He felt her sob and clutch his tunic in her hands. If only his own wife cared this much about him. His own wife probably wanted him to trade places with Pang Tong.

"I don't want to be without him."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nu Wa walked towards Zhuge Linag slowly, he was out looking at the moon by himself. She had to apologize for earlier. She knew he was just doing his job and she had no intention of having the entire army escort Tong home. "Kongming?"

Liang turned and smiled at her. He walked over and hugged her tightly. "I know."

So looked at his face in the moonlight, he had been crying. "I never meant for that to happen, I just want to bring him home. You know how much it meant to him."

"Honestly I didn't." He rested his chin on her head as she began to cry a little into his shoulder. "But you know what is best."

"I…..don't know what to do now."

"Tong asked me to look after you if something….if this happened. My dear, Ying and I want to help. We are here for you."

"Thanks."

"He believed in fate, you know that. He believed everything happened for a reason and events were unavoidable. He felt that way about you. That fate had made him travel all the way to Luo Yang just so he could be at that well at that very moment. You know he would say that fate has something special in store for you...right?"

"Fate can go to hell."

Liang chuckled. "Just remember that he would not want to see you like this."

"I know."

"Bring him back home Wa." Liang hugged her again as he began to weep. "My thoughts…. will be with you."

"Thank you." She returned to her endless crying and let the painful sorrow take over her thoughts once more. Her friends were going to try and pull her through this, but she didn't really want to. She knew when they lowered him into that grave; she was going to want to jump in there with him. Why did she have to keep living when her life was over?


	8. Broken Wings

_Flight of the Phoenix _

_Chapter 8_

**Broken Wings**

* * *

"This is it?" Zhao Yun asked not realizing Nu Wa was behind him.

"Sorry princess, is my home not up to your standards?" She fumed.

"It's nice, really. Quaint." He smiled politely.

"Maybe you'll get that foot out of your mouth one of these days, kid." Guan Yu smacked him on the back.

A very large dog appeared out of a small swinging door beside the people entrance to the shack. It was a big as a donkey, jowly, longhaired and had a curly tail. It was also perturbed at the intrusion and had its massive teeth bared and was growling a low vicious growl that sounded like that of a lion. Wa jumped off her horse and walked up to the dog. "Enough Shiva." The dog sat down and licked her hand.

"What is that?" Yun asked.

"Tibetan Mastiff. Really mean and protective. He guards the house while we're gone." She scratched the dog and walked inside.

"They say dogs are like their owners right?" Yun asked as Liu Bei rode up and smacked him.

"Don't you dare call her a dog!"

"I didn't sir I was just…." Yun backed his horse away, he just couldn't win.

"My lord, I offer you the comforts of our humble home. Not much, but it's a lot more comfortable then a tent." She smiled and slung a shovel over her shoulder, then walked out past the house and up the hill.

"Is she doing what I think she's doing?" Yun asked.

Liu Bei sighed. "I wish…" He realized he had never talked about Shang with anyone and as his two most trusted officers waited for him to continue he added, "Never mind."

Yun dismounted and handed his horse off to a bodyguard but saw Wei Yan run up the hill after her. One of these days he was going to find the right time to end this grudge she had against him. He'd been saying that now for two years.

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"Give…me" Wei Yan pulled the shovel out of her hand and pushed Wa out of the way. "Here?"

"Yeah, here." She sat down and waited for the others to arrive with her husband in his box.

"Nice…place." Wei Yan patted her head and shoveled another scoop away. "I…like."

"Thank you for coming. You all give me strength." She smiled weakly and turned as Ma Chao walked up.

"Hey, you're smiling again!" he went over and was about to sit down when Wei Yan handed him the shovel.

"Your…turn." Then Wei Yan sat down in the place Chao had visually marked as his. He looked at the massive hole Wei Yan had already managed to excavate.

"I can do that if you don't want to." Wa was ready to stand.

"No, I can handle this." Famous last words. Ma Chao would be finding it very hard to do much of anything for two weeks because of those blisters.

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"The ceremony was great, thanks." Wa wiped her tears away as Liu Bei took her arm.

"You didn't hear a word I said, don't lie."

"I never said I did, but it was a nice ceremony." She turned back and looked at Zhao Yun and Guan Yu as the filled the dirt in around his coffin. "I miss him so much." She began to bawl again and Wei Yan was ready with a handkerchief.

"Take…for…tears."

"Can I get you anything?" Ma Chao asked from behind them.

All she could do was shake her head.

"We need to get going." Liu Bei said quietly as he put his arm around her.

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"If I say something to you, are you going to take my head off?" Zhao Yun was taking his turn next to Wa as the party traveled back to camp.

"Don't I always?" she returned.

"For two years straight. I really am sorry about what I said and what I continue to say. I don't mean anything bad by it; I just don't ever seem to get anything right around you."

"You just rub me the wrong way." She admitted.

"At least you're honest."

"What, now I'm some kind of liar?"

"No, I just meant that you're not trying to spare my feelings!"

"Why would I, you're not trying to spare mine?" She kicked him off his horse. "Dare to call me a liar."

"I never said that!" He rolled out of the way as Liu Bei rode past and gave him a sneer.

"My Lady, maybe I could be better company." Bei took Yun's place.

"You must be going for a record, Yun." Guan Yu stopped and held his horse.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Six months later……

Zhuge Liang bent over to look at Yue Ying's juggernaut from a different angle. It was an incredible contraption, she was a brilliant woman. She never failed to impress him….(smack). Liang jumped up from the sudden smack on the ass to see his wife grinning seductively. "Feeling frisky?"

"Always…" She ran her hands over his chest and kissed him.

"Have I told you today what a lucky man I am to have you as a wife?"

"Yeah, but it never gets old." Ying chuckled and swung away from him. "Well, what do you think?"

"It's incredible." Liang played with the mouth of the tiger-like beast. "I like the details like the mouth that opens and closes."

"It's the prototype, I can get creative."

Liang smiled and looked over the juggernaut to the practice field and his smile vanished. Nu Wa was sitting on the ground and a very apologetic Ma Chao was trying to help her up. Over the past few months she had grown thin and pale and her once fiery personality had slowly faded away. Every battle since Luo Castle had required him to assign a general to look after her; she was developing a nasty habit of not caring if she really came back. Each time she would go out and fight her way into the enemy army, then get herself surrounded. It never really upset her that much; she had every intention of fighting until there were no more enemy soldiers or no more Nu Wa. In the beginning, everyone thought she'd fight for revenge. She proved them wrong and Liu Bei himself rode out to pull her back. They had all had the same experience; she had given up on life. Slowly she stopped eating, then Wei Yan began escorting her to meals and forcing her to eat with him. She stopped training and Ma Chao drug her out with him. Then when she stopped fraternizing with the officers, Huang Zhong found her and interrupted her solitude. Even Zhao Yun was able to get close to her without her yelling, in fact, she hadn't snapped at him since the burial. Now it appeared that she couldn't even hold her own in training without being injured. He watched as Chao ripped off a section of his tunic to stem the blood flow from her arm….but she didn't really seem to notice.

Ying followed her husband's gaze and sighed. It didn't seem to be so long ago that she had watched Tong and Wa walk into the Shu camp for the first time. Little did either one of them know the price they would pay. Now Ying began to think it would have been more humane for Wa to have accompanied her husband on that day. Now she was left behind to wither away, long before her time. The worst part was she went to her tent at the end of the night and wrapped herself up in his cloak after reading his colorful commentary in the margins of his _Art of War_. Then the camp would hear her sobs. "We have to do something."

"I promised Tong, but I don't know how to help." Liang looked at his wife and shook his head.

"Oh….here comes Liu Bei to the rescue. He's single-handedly chasing off all the available men. How is she ever going to get past this if she can't find a new life with someone else?"

Liang watched Liu Bei holler at Ma Chao for injuring her. Chao tried in earnest to explain it was an accident, but Bei simply helped her away and turned his back on his tiger general's explanation. Chao threw his spear across the field he was so frustrated. Something would have to be done.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir, can I talk to you…..as a friend." Liang looked up at Liu Bei from where he sat at the small table. Liu Bei looked back at him with sincere eyes.

"Of course, but in order to do that you'll have to drop the 'sir'."

"Xuande….I am concerned about your relationship with Nu Wa."

Bei sat down slowly as asked. "What do you mean?"

"To be blunt, are you in love with her?"

Bei stared at his trusted strategist and opened his mouth to say no, but thought better of it. He looked away and quietly answered," I…I don't know."

"You have verbally attacked both Zhao Yun and Ma Chao in her defense, and I have seen the way you look at her."

"Maybe."

"Are you in love with her? Or the idea of being loved like she loved Tong?" Liang hoped he hadn't gone too far with that one.

"I wanted things to work out with Lady Sun…I don't know why she couldn't love me."

"Lu Xun told me she was seeing a lot Fu Xi before her father offered her hand to you…I don't believe it was your fault." Liang sighed; he didn't really want to tell anyone about that. Lu Xun had slipped up and Liang didn't want the poor kid to get into trouble.

"Oh. Well if he makes her happy."

'Then please, back off of Wa. She needs to see that there are other chances at life."

Bei looked over Liang's worried face. "She'll never choose another husband, we both know that."

"I know. But let them try, maybe one of them will snap her out of her misery."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Shang, did you talk to your brother yet?" Fu Xi looked up from his paperwork and asked as she walked into his room.

"I told you…."

"And I told you to ask him didn't I? I can't bring my sister back here and not have Quan at least interested in her."

Sun Shang Xiang frowned. Fu Xi had quickly started talking down to her when she came back home. She had been so happy with him before, but apparently that was because he was just trying to marry himself closer to the seat of power. Now that she was married, he had no use for her and he was simply trying to use her to manipulate Quan into marrying his sister. Quan was not really interested in Nu Wa, she scared him; however Xi had calmly but condescendingly told Shang to try and convince Quan otherwise. "I talked, he didn't listen."

"Well at least try while I'm gone." Xi stood and shuffled his papers around. "Or do I have to do everything?"

"Can't you let her mourn before you try and use her to gain some more influence? She loved him so much…."

"Psht." Xi slammed his papers on the table. "He was nothing. He stole her away right when all my work was paying off."

"She loved him…."

"Well he is dead, now it is my turn to bring her home and secure her an interest in something better than a shack and a donkey. If she's still alive that is. I have to go, before my sister finds a way back to her husband's side."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce Jiang Wei." Zhuge Liang held out his arm, beckoning Wei to come forward.

Wei smiled as the officers smiled back. He immediately laid his eyes on the woman Liang had pointed out as being Pang Tong's widow. She was very pretty, around his age, gaunt but very pretty. "Hello."

"Wei will be joining us as my apprentice. Hopefully he will be able to rise to be a great strategist for us." Liang smiled.

Wei grinned with the compliment. He looked around; all of the men seemed to be pleased as well. Everyone except Nu Wa. She looked like she was about to burst into tears….in fact her eyes were beginning to water. What had he done to make her so sad?

Wei Yan reached out for Wa's hand. "New strategist…not replacement."

"I know." She squeaked out. She knew they had to move on, find someone else for the job. Tong was gone…..and everyone but her seemed okay with that. Unable to sit quietly anymore she bit her lips and snuck out of the tent. Immediately she began to cry.

Yan got up and went out to comfort her. He hoped she would be able to see how much he cared for her and maybe in time…"Come." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tear streaked face into his shoulder. Gently he walked her away from the tent and over to the small pond. Delicately, he coaxed her to sit down on the stone bench. "Okay…Yan here…for you."

Zhuge Liang frowned. He had made the stupid assumption that she was overcoming her grief because she no longer lingered on it. Perhaps it was time to talk to her….yes she would be ready for that now. "Wei, it is okay." He whispered. "Go meet the generals."

Wei nodded and began to mingle, but his thoughts remained on one thing, Nu Wa. Sure he had women all over him but they were just women. None of them really meant anything, they weren't anything special. Zhang Fei smacked him on the back and he was forced out of his thoughts.

Liang slowly moved towards the sound of the slurps and sniffles that designated the location of a distraught Nu Wa. He looked over at the pond as Wei Yan tried to tell her not to take offense at the new guy, he didn't deserve that kind of reception. Liang actually had to smile when Yan told her not to turn the boy into another Zhao Yun because of his ponytail. "Ahem."

Yan looked back irritated, why was someone always interrupting him? "Hummm?"

Liang caught the look in his eyes. Dear god, not another one! Nu Wa had the entire camp lusting for her now….this was not going to be good. "Wa….when you get a chance. We need to talk."

"'kay." She mumbled.

He nodded to Wei Yan and turned away. If he was helping…..but he couldn't picture her with the wild man. Tong had entrusted her to his care, perhaps he should take this nonsense into his own hands. Maybe he should decide for her. Something would have to be done soon or else the jealousy would begin to eat away at them. He needed Ying; she would know what to do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Who the hell is that?" Zhang Fei asked abruptly.

Guan Yu turned and stared at the approaching rider and his escort, Jiang Wei. "That's Zhang Liao."

"What's he want?"

"I don't think the flowers are for you."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nu Wa stared at the flowers and sneezed. "Thanks."

"I only wish I could find a flower that was worthy of you, but alas all pale in comparison to your beauty." Liao smiled sweetly.

"He's got to be kidding right?" Zhao Yun leaned over to Ma Chao and whispered.

"I don't think so." Chao watched as Liao pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"I wrote a poem….actually many of them…but I didn't think you wanted to hear them all…ummm…unless you do?"

"What?" Wa sneezed again and put the flowers aside.

"I wrote you a poem." Liao grinned.

"Is he trying to kill her?" Huang Zhong sat down and asked quietly.

"I think it's nice." Jiang Wei smiled. "She needs a pick-me-up."

"Yeah, but it needs to be one of us!" Chao hissed.

"Oh….am I included in the 'us'?" Wei asked hopefully.

"Nope. Limited to real men only." Yun responded.

"That eliminates you Zilong. She emasculated you way back." Guan Yu sat down and smirked.

"Ha!" Wei stood up straight.

"Shhhhhh. The poem." Zhong reminded them.

Liao cleared his throat.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Nu Wa stared at him. It was possibly the worst thing she had ever heard, but he was still standing there in front of her waiting for her reaction. "Liao…"

"Wait!" He waved his hands in front of her. "I have another."

"NO!" Chao, Yun, Wei and Zhong shouted.

"Why?" Liao asked curiously.

"Look, Wa is still mourning. I'm sure she'll keep you in mind. Right?" Yu eyed her.

"Yeah, thanks for the weeds Liao."

"Oh I picked them fresh!" Liao smiled. He handed her the packet of poems. "You can read them later….I….I'll miss you."

"Thanks Liao." Wa stared at the letters, a small bundle of papers of incredibly destructive ability.

Liao took her hand before leaving and kissed it. "If you were a tear in my eye I would not cry for fear of losing you."

"Okay." She stared at him and watched him leave. Then she wiped away the tear in her eye from the allergic reaction to whatever weed he had given her.

"What the hell was that?" Yun asked

"I don't know, but it was scary." Jiang Wei jumped up. "I better escort him out of the camp before he does more damage."

"Too late, I think I'm suffering from internal bleeding." Zhong coughed and fell of the log.

"The old man is down." Yun looked down at him. "Help Help." He added unemotionally.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What's a Wu general doing here?" Ma Chao was shocked to see the man talking with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.

"That's Fu Xi, Wa's brother. He must have heard." Guan Yu filled him in.

"He's going to try and take her back to Wu, just watch." Yun knew what they were discussing; it was clear from the look on Kongming's face.

"What's going on?" Nu Wa walked up and looked over at the men and her brother. "Never mind." She strolled right up to them.

Ma Chao watched as she nailed her brother with an uppercut and then followed it with a swift punch to the stomach. Once he was on the ground she started to wail on him. "Wow, Yun apparently you're lucky."

"Are you done?" Xi flipped her over and pinned her to the ground.

"What are you doing here?" She fought his grip. "Celebrating Tong's demise?"

"Why in the world would I do that?"

"You always hated him."

"I never liked him but he made you happy so that's all that mattered." He let her up.

"But you're here now, right? What else could you want but to rub it in my face?"

"Are you listening to yourself?" Xi stood up and looked down at her "Why would I want to hurt you? You're my sister"

"What do you want?" she screamed

"To get you out of here for a while, to make it better." He smiled. "Because you look half-dead."

"Then bring back my husband." She began to cry. "That's all I want."

"I can't." He opened his arms beckoning her.

She ran to him and cried. "Why couldn't it have been me?"

"Hey now. I may not have liked my brother-in-law much but at least I know he wouldn't want you to be like this. Wa, he'd want you to move on. It's been awhile."

"I don't care."

"Obviously, you look like an ally whore."

She suddenly smiled.

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"This tent….hasn't changed has it?" Fu Xi looked around his sister's tent and was disturbed. She had been moving his things around with her for six months. Then there was the cloak she was using as a blanket. "Wa, this isn't healthy."

"So what. Let me mourn."

"This isn't mourning. This is sickening. Wa, Liu Bei says you're becoming careless in battle, almost suicidal. He's worried and so am I."

"Fighting is fighting."

"And he also says you don't hang around with the officers anymore. That you go and sit by yourself."

"Well you two had a great conversation didn't you?"

"I think its best you come back with me."

"No, I am a Shu officer, I have responsibilities."

"Wa, you need some time away from this. Come on; let me be your big brother and try and help now that you actually need me."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	9. Migrating

_Flight of the Phoenix _

Chapter 9

**Migrating**

**

* * *

**

"And you're allowing this?" Zhao Yun asked incredulously.

"Zilong, sometimes it is best to be with family." Liu Bei toyed with his teacup. He wasn't overly thrilled with the prospect of Nu Wa returning to Wu with her brother especially since he harbored a grudge against the man for ruining his marriage.

"We _are_ family." Ma Chao snapped and threw his cup across the room.

Zhuge Liang rubbed his temples with his index fingers. "We all are wary of this. But I have to agree with our lord, Fu Xi is her brother. Perhaps he can help."

"We aren't helping her." Guan Yu stood and walked over to clean up the spilled tea from Ma Chao's cup. It drove him insane to see the puddle of beverage seep it's way into the nice wood floor. "Six months and none of us have been able to do anything to make her smile. He was here ten minutes and made more progress than all of us combined."

"Yeah." Zhang Fei snorted. "he's got a point. What harm can come of it?"

"Wa stay..with him." Wei Yan grunted.

"Boys…" Yue Ying looked over all the forlorn faces. "Maybe you should give her something worth coming back to if you're all so concerned."

"Are you suggesting…"Jiang Wei caught on quick.

"Yes. You four have been tripping over each other trying to impress her for months. Get out there and do it right. This may be your last chance." Ying rolled her eyes. _Stupid men._

"Four?" Huang Zhong asked. "Shouldn't Zilong sit this out, considering his stunning record so far? I mean the whelp has issues."

"I do not! I just say the wrong thing…sometimes."

"Sometimes….Always." Wei Yan chuckled.

"She leaves in five hours." Ying crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. She saw Jiang Wei's eyes light up.

"Excuse me gentlemen." Jiang Wei smiled.

"Wait….." Chao watched the youngster leave. "Do you mean…"

"Me…Next." Wei Yan announced.

Chao clamped his hand over Zhao Yun's mouth. "Third!"

Yun elbowed Chao in the ribs. "I don't want to go last!"

"Why not? You're the one with the slimmest chance!" Huang Zhong laughed.

"It will give you time to thoughtfully prepare what you are going to say and then perhaps review it with someone before you speak with her." Zhuge Liang offered.

"But…."

"Hey." Chao leaned in and muffled a laugh. "Maybe you can get a hold of those poems Zhang Liao left for her."

"Why are you so confident?" Yun asked. "You're the one who tossed her in the horse trough!"

"Yes, but you're the one who insulted her for years. Exactly how are you going to put an end to that?" Chao leaned back in his seat with a boyish grin.

"By cheating!" Yun stood up and looked to Zhuge Liang. "Help me."

"I'm not good with romance." Liang shrugged.

Ying giggled childishly. Her husband was notorius for forgetting important dates and he could never see a need for extravagant actions to express his feelings. Kongming spoke from the heart and that was all she ever wanted. "Maybe you should make your plea to Lord Liu Bei. I hear his is quite the lady killer."

Liu Bei blushed. "I wouldn't say that…."

"She's right!" Yun smiled.

"Need I remind you that my own wife is happy being on the other side of the country, as far away from me as she can get?" Bei asked.

"I honestly have nothing to loose."

"Well then, my advice is stop hitting on her. Just be yourself. You're a honorable man Zilong, you just work too hard when you're trying to impress a woman."

"Oh." Yun looked to Chao. "Really?"

"Yeah, but it works with the other 99.9 of the female population so I figured you were doing pretty good." Chao smirked. "Still won't get you anywhere."

"Humpf…" Wei Yan stood. "Amatuers."

"My money's on Wei Yan." Huang Zhong looked to Zhang Fei.

"Heh. I'm going to pick Chao. He's got the angry thing going. She likes to be angry. Common ground." Fei answered.

"This is horrible….betting on them like this." Liang looked to the two men and then quietly added. "However I wager that Jiang Wei will emerge the victor. Intelligence goes a long way."

"Well that leaves me with Zhao Yun." Guan Yu shook his head. "I always did like picking the longshots."

Jiang Wei cleared his throat outside Nu Wa's tent. He heard the irritating condescending voice of Fu Xi and frowned. How could it be a good idea to send her back with him, the man seemed to talk down to her all the time. Fu Xi's voice droned on about the leaving certain items behind. Wei couldn't help but listen in.

"Wa, I am not going to let you bring this rag with you."

"It's not a rag!" Wa screamed. "It's all I have left. I was always happy when that cloak was around me….it means too much."

"This." Xi growled. "Is a piece of clothing, not your husband. God Wa, normal people have children in order to have something to remember their spouses when they're gone."

Wei took a step back and blinked. He could never have considered being so nasty to someone, even on the battlefield. How could this guy be so cruel to his own sister?

Wa yelled back, voice shaking because of the tears that were obviously returning to her eyes. "You don't think….I feel guilty?"

"Wa, if you grew up before you lost him, maybe you would have realized that marriage means more than just sitting around on a hill underneath the same cloak. You were married for four years, putting of having children was selfish on your part. Now look, you have nothing and his family line is dead with him."

Wei's mouth dropped open and he stared at the tentflap. Suddenly a sobbing Nu Wa burst out of the canvas and plowed right into him.

"S…ssorry."

Wei just put his finger to his lips and looked up at the tent. Wa got the idea that he didn't want Fu Xi to follow her out and cause more problems. He pointed over towards the river and she nodded. Taking a huge chance he put his arm around her shoulder and was relieved when she leaned into him and press her head into his green sash. Then his heart leapt into his throat when he realized that he had never been this close to her before.

Wa clutched Tong's cloak and held it close to her chest. How dare he try and take it from her. She looked ahead at the spot that Jiang Wei always sat and studied. Kongming had a terribly annoying habit of swamping the poor guy with a workload that would kill the great Sun Tzu himself. Yet Wei never complained and carted all the books to this nice little spot where the carp were usually stirring up the muck under the lilies. How nice of him to try and help her.

"Would you sit with me for a while?" Wei asked.

"Sure."

_Oh my god…It worked!_ "Your brother doesn't seem very nice."

"He's not."

"If he's going to be like that then maybe you shouldn't go back with him." _Good one._

Wa sighed. "I know…but I feel like I'm making everyone miserable here."

"No..not at all. Actually, everyone is really worried about you."

"Which makes them feel sorry for me. If I'm gone awhile maybe things will go back to normal."

"You're part of Shu, without you it is going to be very awkward around here."

"Yeah, you won't hear crying in the middle of the night. I'm sure you'll all miss that." Wa watched a carp splash around the shallows in an attempt to find some food.

"You'll be what I miss." _Damnit! Think before you speak! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Should have though that out better, now I'm sounding like Zhao Yun!_

Wa looked up at him wondering if she was too distracted by the bottomfeeding fish to hear him correctly. No, he was blushing so that meant…"What?"

"I know I haven't been here very long but I haven't been able to keep my eyes off you since we were first introduced. I would really like to get to know you better."

"Oh."

_Oh? Oh?_ "Does that upset you?"

"No…I just didn't know anybody thought about me like that." Wa said in a very reflective manner that was usually reserved for strategists.

_I had to go first, didn't I?_ "Actually, there are quite a few of us that would like to know you as more than a fellow officer."

"Me?"

Wei smiled. "Why does that surprise you?"

"I guess I really never thought about it." Wa looked down at Tong's cloak. All this time Kongming kept telling her Tong would want her to be happy and being happy meant moving past her grief. It was true, if he saw her like this he'd cry. But could she love another man? The overwhelming answer was 'no'. But Tong always said you have to try before you make your mind up. "Who is 'us'?"

"Well other than me…there's Yun, Chao and Yan. Oh and Zhang Liao."

Wa smiled. "I know about Liao."

"He did make a lasting impression. I believe Zhong is scarred for like after that reading." Wei watched her rock herself to her knees and turn to look at him. He gave her his warmest smile.

"Is that why you were at my tent?"

"I wanted to tell you before you left. Honestly…I want to be the one who makes you smile again, not that horrible brother of yours."

"And how are you planning to do that?" She asked playfully. Somehow making the young warrior turn crimson seemed like a worthwhile activity.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be very much of a surprise now would it?"

Wa shook her head. "Strategists…..you always have to keep everything secret."

"Yeah…I guess we do." Wei smirked.

"WA!" Fu Xi stomped up. "I've been looking all over for you and you're watching fish? Oh…hello."

Wei jumped up. "General Fu, we haven't been introduced. I'm Jiang Wei…"

"Sure…Zhuge Liang's apprentice. Trying to move in on a woman already predisposed to favoring strategists. Slick move, sure she didn't see through that."

"Xi…stop it." Wa snapped.

"What? Stop protecting you from making the same mistake you did last time? Haven't you learned that that particular occupation leads to rather untimely horrible death?"

"I was just talking!"

"Mmm….and may I ask about what?" Xi watched them look at each other and then look at the ground. "Exactly as I thought. Leave my sister alone."

"What right do you have to tell me who I talk to! I'm not a child anymore, I'm not in your custody!" Wa pushed him.

"Well then stop screwing around and finish packing." Xi growled and turned away.

Wa was making her way back to her tent after apologizing to Wei about her sibling's manners when she caught sight of Wei Yan. As furious as she was with Xi, she couldn't help but feel a touch more relaxed when Yan smiled and waved her over. Xi could wait for his beating…friends came first. "Something wrong?"

"No…you?"

"Just Xi."

"Grrrr…"

"No, it's okay. I can handle it." Wa grabbed his arm and reassured him. "Really, I like hitting him."

Yan looked down at her honest little face and nodded. Now that he had his chance he needed to find somewhere quiet and secluded. "Pond?"

"Sure…are you sure nothing's wrong? You seem tense." She squeezed his arm gently, not remembering Wei's admission from earlier.

Yan cleared his throat. "No….Just talk." He looked down at her petite hand on his arm and it made him smile. _What an odd scene this must be. My poor pale beauty, if only I could be the one to bring life back to your eyes I could forget all the pain I have endured. If you could only see how much I love you…if I could only speak what I thought instead of gruntingt like a Neanderthal.._

"To the Koi pond then?" She asked knowing how much he enjoyed sitting on that stone bench.

Yan could only nod as she led the way. He couldn't believe how nervous he was. All this time he had comforted her and he never felt intimidated, but now was different wasn't it? He was competing with three of the most sought-after bachelors in the three kingdoms….and he knew he didn't stand a chance.

"What's wrong Wenchang?" Wa sat down on the bench and tossed some food to the already overgrown fish. When she turned to grab another handful of food she saw something familiar, yet out of place. His mask, the bone plate with ornamental feathers that hid the uppermost portion of his face from the world, was in his outstretched hand. Without truly believing that the item could exist without being attached to his face, she reached out to take it. Before she could take her eyes away, he was kneeling next to her.

"Fire…"

Prying her right hand off the mask she touched the recently unveiled section of his head. So a fire had warped his skin like this. "Why do you hide this?"

"Scare people."

"Then they aren't worth knowing."

"Women scream…babies cry."

"Why show me?"

"You don't….judge."

"Why now?" Suddenly Jiang Wei's words came back to her. How could she have been so blind?

"Don't go…..Stay with me." _My light….you give me renewed faith in humanity. How can I tell you that you made me want to rejoin society…how can I tell you how precious you are…how can I tell you anything? _

"Why would you want me? I can only bring you down…I feel like an infectious misery. The least I can do is make Wu people unhappy for a while." Wa played with his mask.

"Only you." Yan tapped his mask. _I should have wrote a letter….at least then I wouldn't have to hear myself talk. What was I thinking…I'm not up for this. I'm not worthy of her. _

"I don't know if I'm ever going to get over this…the guilt. I can't imagine making someone live with me like this."

"Come home." Yan stood.

"I will." She handed him his mask. "Don't think that I don't understand you. You don't need to worry about that with me. You've always understood me…I wish I could give you an answer. I can't guarantee anything….all I know is that right now I can't. It hurts too much to think of love….and knowing that I didn't truly appreciate it til it was gone. If I only grew up sooner and saw that I had more to give him…not just protection. I could have been a better wife."

"Tong very happy."

"I better go. Xi will start yelling and I'm ready to cry again. Thank you..this meant a lot."

"Come back….quick."

"I'll try."

"Wa!" Chao galloped up and his mare danced around as he slid out of the saddle.

"Hi Chao." Now by the third one she was getting the idea. It was time to make a statement before she left and all the boys were trying to get their time in before the boat arrived. "I was just going to the storehouse for some meatbuns."

"I'll help!"

"Sure." She shook her head expecting him to do better than that.

"Look, I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot…"

"My fault. But we're past that, well past that." Wa wondered if by flirting he triggered momentary memory loss. They had patched their differences long ago. After that night when she a lot got skewered by archers, she had apologized for everything. He understood, being the hot-tempered young man that he was, and forgot about the slight.

"Well I was just going to say that, even though you seriously pissed me off I could help but notice how beautiful you were."

Wa smiled. He always got to the point quickly. "You're pretty cute too Chao." She grabbed a handful of meatbuns and wrapped them up in a cloth. She turned to see he was blushing, and a deeper shade of red than even Jiang Wei had managed. She was just returning a compliment and didn't realize how she had caught him off-guard.

"Thanks….I hear that a lot actually." He fidgeted with his sash.

"Hah." She poked him in the gut. "I finally found your weakness."

"Well….I just wasn't expecting that." He gulped as she laughed at him.

"Next time we practice I'm going to remember that." She looked up at his face, he looked uncertain. "Did I say something wrong? Don't tell me I offended you again…"

"No…I….." He felt the nervous sweat beginning to coat his palms. "I just really want to kiss you…"

"Well then you'd have to bend down, I'm a full foot shorter than you." She said it more of a joke than anything but a part of her wanted him to do it. Perhaps then she could figure out if she was capable of feeling anything again. Before she had a chance to think anymore he had leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath. Gently he picked her chin up with his hand and brushed her lips with his before commiting to the kiss. Putting the meatbuns down she put her hand on his cheek and kissed him back.

"Oh my god…where did you learn to kiss like that?" Ma Chao stood frozen in shock as Wa broke off the kiss and picked her meatbuns up again.

"Tong, he's the only man I ever kissed. Til now…"

"Wow."

Wa blushed. The combination of kissing another man and talking about her intimate relations with Tong made her feel a bit flushed. Wait, she had just kissed another man in a storehouse….

Chao looked up and instantly saw her rosy cheeks which only looked brighter because of the pale tone of her skin. "I didn't mean to embarrass you…it was a compliment."

"No…I just feel weird."

"Bad weird?"

"No just…"

"Like some pervert cornered you in the storehouse and kissed you." Chao ran his hand through his hair and turned around. "I'm sorry I don't know what came over me. I just don't want to lose you. You're leaving in almost two hours and everything's so rushed…I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

"I kissed you too. You can tell everyone that your honor's been compromised by some crazy widow."

"Wa, I'm not so great with words. I act on what I'm feeling and I honestly care about you a lot. I understand you unlike any other girl I've ever met, and I want to help make your pain go away."

"My pain can't go away by killing someone Chao…"

"But maybe by being with someone that cares for you….maybe it will ease it a bit. I'm sorry. I didn't intend this to happen like this. I promise when you get back I'll do it right. Candlelight dinner, moonlight ride….let you throw me in a horse trough."

"Alright. But I need to go, Xi's probably trying to give away Tong's things and pack up the tent so I don't notice." Wa turned to leave. "Zhao Yun's going to ambush me next, isn't he?"

Chao chuckled. "You may be in for a surprise….he enlisted Liu Bei's help."

Wa was on her way back to the tent when she saw Zhao Yun staring down Fu Xi. Somehow when the spear general wasn't trying to be flirty he came across as a man that shouldn't be crossed.

"I don't believe it is any of your concern what Nu Wa keeps." Yun snapped as he watched Xi fiddle with the lock on Tong's trunk. He had drug the heafty box out of the tent to get some decent light.

"And why is it your job to protect her right to be a packrat?"

"Sentimentality is something to be respect, not recycled."

"Problems?" Wa asked.

"No." Xi growled.

"Yes, he's trying to pick a lock unsuccessfully." Yun glared at the man he wanted to pummel.

"Xi, go pack your own things." Wa watched him throw his hands up in disgust.

"Fine. But don't think we're going to provide room for this trash in the guest room." Xi stormed off.

"He gets bitchier with age." Wa grumbled.

"If you want you can hit me, it seems to make you feel better." Yun suggested.

"Don't be an idiot."

"If it will make you feel better…." He shrugged.

"So you're protecting my honor now."

Yun stood up. "He came here on the pretense of caring about you and……"

"I know. But he's my brother."

"I'm sorry for everything I've said in the past that has upset you. I was just trying to be nice, but what worked on other girls backfired when it came to you. Sorry."

"So you're the last one hmmm?" Each one so far had used their skills to try and win her over. Wei with his intelligence, Yan his sentiment, Chao his honesty and now Yun…but what was his strength? Bravery. She smiled. Poor man has withstood her attacks for four years….yes that worked.

"Yes. Liu Bei tells me to be myself….well here I am. I just want you to know I'm here too. I know the others have probably done a better job of giving you a reason to return, but I care for you too. Everything I said so far has come across wrong…"

"What about at Chibi?"

"That was supposed to be a compliment. At the time it seemed like I was sticking up for you but now….well I should have never been sitting in on that conversation. Sorry for everything. I like standing up for you…I'd like to keep doing that."

"Is that all?" She asked knowing he was afraid to say anything else.

"You're really special and it bothers me to see you so unhappy. I'd like to protect you from the world, prevent this tragedy from ruining your life."

"He was my life."

"Yes…but you're still here and no one wants you to suffer like this. I'd like to show you that there are still good things out there. Life's not over for you." Yun nodded. "Besides where else am I going to find a girl with such a cute ass?" He looked over at the little grey donkey she still kept around as a pet.

Wa smiled. "They you can take care of her till I get back."

"Thanks." Yun sighed as the donkey looked over at them, mouth full of hay.

"Thanks Zilong."

"So…..when you get back maybe we can go hunting."

"Hunting?"

"Yeah, I hear there's a man-eating tiger around here. Hasn't attacked anyone yet, but you never know…."

"Sounds nice." Wa smiled and then lapsed into thought. One more hour to go before she was stuck with Xi and all of these new thoughts for weeks on end. Stupid boats needed to move faster.


	10. Final Flight

_Flight of the Phoenix_

Chapter 10

**Final Flight**

**

* * *

**

"Wa!" Yue Ying raced toward the pier hoping to catch the girl before she left. All the boys were buzzing about their time with her and Ma Chao was obsessing on his kiss. Ying was dying to know if her plan had worked and she wasn't about to wait for months to find out.

"Something wrong?" Wa had Tong's cloak on mainly to keep away the nasty chill she got from the river but also to keep the precious item away from her brother.

"No." Ying grabbed Wa's hand. "Honey, I just heard. Chao can't shut up about it. Is it true? Did you kiss him?"

Wa looked away. "Yeah I did. It was my reaction just to kiss him back."

Ying touched her arm. Suddenly the news wasn't so exciting. Wa should have been happy…but she just seemed guilty. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't feel anything, Ying. It was a kiss, and I didn't feel that tingle…"

"Maybe it's too soon…"

"No. I think that part of me died with Tong….I don't think I can ever feel like that again." Wa looked at Ying's face. "You understand don't you? If you lost Kongming, could you move on? Ever?"

Ying suddenly went pale. She left her heart skip a beat and had to remind herself to breathe. It was true; she would never find another man that could capture her heart like her husband. She should have understood that before, but instead she ignored her instinct. Rationalizations had no place in matters of the heart so her plan was never going to succeed. Instead she had set up those four good men to be let down. Of course they would jump at the chance to help Wa, they were all so chivalrous and they cared so much for her, but Wa wasn't ready for that. In fact she would never be. "No…I see your point."

"I thought if I gave it a chance, like I promised Kongming, that maybe I would be proven wrong. When I come back, I don't think I'm going to feel any different. I'm only going to hurt them by trying and I don't want them to be hurt."

"They will understand, they'll be hurt by not being given a chance to help." Ying looked over and saw a grumpy Fu Xi staring at her. The man was an ass, and that was an understatement. At least the other generals of Wu were good people. "Look, take this trip as an opportunity to get away from the situation. Maybe it will give you a new perspective."

"Sure." Wa nodded. She gave the woman a hug. "Thank you for everything…both of you."

"Be safe." Ying watched her walk towards the pier.

"WAIT!" Liu Bei shouted as he galloped up on Hex Mark.

"Do these people know anything about keeping to a schedule?" Xi growled as the Shu leader dismounted.

"My lord?" Wa was surprised by his shout. Liu Bei rarely ever got excited about things.

"Here, I want you to take my horse. In case you decide to come back early…he will bring you home quickly." Bei handed her the reins.

"I can't accept…"

"Please. It is the least I can do."

"Just take the horse Wa, let's go." Xi snapped.

"Thank you. I will bring him back."

"You may not want to give him back. After all you'll need a fast horse to get away from my generals." Bei kissed her cheek. "You are part of our family, and we will not rest easy until you come home."

"Thank you sir." Wa smiled and pet the horse. "I will come back soon."

"Good." Bei watched her lead the grey onto the boat and Fu Xi quickly shout orders to get them on their way. He fumbled with the letter still in his hand. He worked all night on the stupid thing but for some reason he just couldn't have her deliver it. If Sun Shang Xiang wanted to be with Fu Xi….it was her happiness that mattered the most. His stupid letter would only make her mad. Maybe in another lifetime he could make his marriage work.

* * *

"Well here they come." Gan Ning splashed the water with his bare feet. He was sitting on the edge of the pier at Jian Ye waiting for the ship to arrive. It was overdue and he regretted not taking over the navigation himself. Zhou Tai had the same reaction that he did and both of them were nervous for the past two days.

Zhou Tai stood at attention as always on the edge of the pier. Unlike Gan Ning he could never allow himself to be completely relaxed in public, which usually made people edgy. "About time."

"Well I guess I'll run up and tell Ce, he is after all the stupid emperor."

"Sure." Tai watched Ning run off barefoot towards the castle. It still amazed him that Sun Ce was now in control of Wu. It seemed only yesterday that Sun Jian was screaming at his eldest son to quit leaving livestock in people's bedrooms. Life went on.

"Home sweet home." Fu Xi jumped off the boat and smiled when he saw a familiar face. "Hey Tai!"

"Hello."

"Come on Mark." Wa tugged on her mount's reins to coax him down the ramp. "Hello again General Zhou."

"Hello."

"Great to see you've expanded you vocabulary Tai. Really is." Xi huffed.

Tai narrowed his eyes and was about to kick the man into the river when Sun Ce's voice echoes across the water and probably across half of eastern China.

"XI!" Ce can running down the pier and slammed into his friend delivering noogies and playful punches. "Hey man! Lot's of stuff has happened around here!"

"By lots of stuff…." Zhou Yu rolled his eyes, "He means that his father was assassinated and he is now the ruling emperor of Wu. Minor details really."

"Yeah yeah." Ce mumbled. "That too."

"Welcome back to Wu, Nu Wa." Yu turned to the quiet young widow. "I am sorry for your loss. I admired your husband, he was an incredible strategist."

Wa only offered a polite smile as Hex Mark played with her rapier's scabbard. "Nice to see you again too Zhou Yu."

"Hey, I kind of remember you used to smile." Ce pinched her cheek playfully. "We don't need another moody girl around here; we already got my sister for that."

"Sorry." Wa smiled a bit, Sun Ce was a complete buffoon at times. But it was cheering her up a little.

"Well let's see if I can't help you a bit." Ce winked and kicked Xi off the pier. "Feel better?"

Wa laughed as Xi popped his head up out of the river uttering curses and splashing around. "Yeah."

"Great, I've been waiting for a month to do that to him." Ce offered his arm to the girl. "So allow me to escort you to my humble palace."

Tai cocked an eyebrow and looked at the flailing Fu Xi try and climb a mooring line back to the pier. It was nice to see things were back to normal; however it would have been more comforting to see the emperor act a bit more mature. "I'll help carry their things."

Zhou Yu looked down at the soaking wet general clawing his way back to the dock. "Yes, I too am proud of our Emperor's methods." He always knew what the quiet general was thinking; it was usually along the same lines as his own thoughts.

* * *

Nu Wa was barely listening to Sun Ce as he walked her back to his palace. The Qiaos were anxiously awaiting the return of their husbands and she couldn't help but envy them. How nice it must be to still have the one you love….."Thank you for having me."

"Oh no problemo! Really things are too quiet around here. Besides we need some new ideas on torturing Fu Xi. He's become immune to the frog thing. Ning tried moving on to fish…but throwing a thirty pound carp at someone only creates concussions. Learned that the hard way."

"He's terrified of worn socks."

"As in dirty laundry?"

"Yes, but only the socks." Wa watched the Wu Lord's eyes light up.

"Really…." Ce giggled.

"What are you doing with that horse!" Sun Shang Xiang stormed up as the pair reached the gate.

"It's only a horse Shang…" Da Qiao tried to calm her sister-in-law down.

"That…" Shang growled. "Is Liu Bei's horse! Why do you have it?"

"Hey sis…um….can you tone down the bitchiness?" Ce chuckled uncomfortably.

"You sound jealous." Wa said bluntly. "I understand it is your husband's horse, but you have never treated him like you were married. Why should you be upset?"

Shang stood slightly put off by the woman's reaction. All the time she had known her Nu Wa was always ready to fight. So who was this woman in front of her? Suddenly she looked at the gaunt figure before her. She was at least thirty pound underweight with dark circles under her eyes and a very weary look about her. She looked horrible….was this all because she lost her husband? "Ummm…"

"Why don't we go inside, hmmmm? I'm sure dinner is ready." Da said trying to move the hostility rating of the conversation back to neutral.

"Good idea! Isn't it Zhou Yu!" Xiao said perkily as her husband caught up with the small entourage.

"If I had the slightest idea of what you were talking about…." Yu shook his head.

"Dinner!" Ce smiled. "We're going to dinner!"

"Excellent decision your highness. That's why we're all so devoted to you." Yu shook his head and looped his arm around his tiny wife before heading through the gate. "Everything revolves around food with him."

"I'll take your horse, my lady." Lu Meng appeared out of the palace and smiled warmly.

"Thank you….you are all so kind."

As the party went through the gate and into the castle, Sun Shang Xiang stood wondering what exactly she was missing out on. Fu Xi had just emerged from the river sopping wet only to be thrown back in by a laughing Gan Ning. When the boisterous pirate tried to do the same to Zhou Tai, Tai leaned back and Ning splashed head first into the Chang Jiang. Usually things like this made her laugh, but looking into Nu Wa's eyes had drained her energy. All the couples she knew, Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao, Sun Ce and Da Qiao and to some extent Nu Wa and Pang Tong were so devoted to each other that the loss of one pretty much decided the fate of the other. But then there was the relationship she had with Fu Xi….and she knew that he would have never felt so strongly if it had been her life that was lost. But Liu Bei….he would care. Even now, now that she had pushed him away to the far side of the country, he would still weep for her if she was killed. Why was she so upset about Hex Mark? Was she really jealous of her husband possibly feeling something for another woman…even though she was currently in a non-committal relationship with Fu Xi?

* * *

After the formal dinner with the entire Wu clan, Nu Wa found her way to the courtyard where Tong and Yu had held their private concert before Chi Bi. How nice that had been. She found the bench and sat down. Good memories, so why was she starting to cry? Coming here only made her realize how much she missed him. She wanted to run home but there was that lingering situation that awaited her there. The men of Shu would want answers and she owed them all explanations. Bored on the boat trip down the river she had written letters to them each explaining how great the really were but how horrible she was for not being able to give them the love they deserved. She would die as Pang Tong's widow and that was all she really wanted to do.

Sun Shang Xiang watched Nu Wa crying on the bench for nearly thirty minutes before she walked over. "Hello."

"Lady Sun…" Wa wiped away her tears. "Ummm….I 'm sorry. I'll leave…I didn't know I was somewhere I shouldn't be."

"You're not. Please sit down…I want to talk to you."

"Me?"

"Why did Liu Bei give you his horse?"

"Just because he wanted me to come home when I wanted to. He was just being nice; there really isn't any more to it than that."

"I…"

"Lady Sun…" Wa knew what the woman was pondering. They really weren't all that different. "He still loves you. You're his wife."

Shang blushed. Talking to a stranger about her nonexistent marriage was weird. "I thought your brother was the one."

"Xi?" Wa smiled. "He's only interested in himself."

"I know." Shang looked away. "Now."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I think you should give him another chance. Loving Tong was the greatest thing I ever experienced and now that I don't have him anymore I can only hope my life ends soon so we can be together again. It's great…so great that when it's gone you lose your will to live. Still, I wouldn't have traded those four years with Tong for anything. Don't lose out on your chance to experience that…Liu Bei is a good man. Really is. He blames himself for your unhappiness."

Shang thought that that was possibly the most depressing thing she had ever heard, but it made sense. "Thanks."

"Sorry we got off on the wrong foot." Wa cleared her throat. She knew she was babbling; it was time to be more collected. She had to represent Shu and being a blubbering mess wasn't very responsible.

"As much my fault as yours." Shang jumped up. "Look, since you're here….let's just put that behind us."

"I'd like that." Wa nodded.

"Good."

* * *

"Alright we're going to attack Xu Chang!" Sun Ce announced to the group in front of him. "Kill Cao Cao, save the world, come home."

"Pretty inspiring." Zhou Tai groaned.

"You should have heard the original version of his speech." Zhou Yu said dryly.

"I'd like to help…if you don't mind." Nu Wa said quietly.

"We would be honored to have you accompany us." Zhou Yu replied.

Fu Xi sat next to his sister and ignored everything that was going on around him. He had tried to talk Sun Quan into courting her, but the man refused stating that the young girl was not ready to seek a new relationship. Fine. There were other men in Wu that were not currently attached to a wife and he just needed to figure out which one he wanted to push her towards. Lu Xun was all excited because she lent him Tong's copy of the _Art of War_ and the boy was bubbling with laughter ever since. Apparently Tong's eccentric comments in the margins made the book worth rereading every night. Perhaps he would be a good choice….

"Hey! Xi? That okay with you?" Ning slammed his elbow into his buddy's ribs trying to get an answer for Zhou Yu.

"Huh?"

"Nu Wa asked to accompany us, I asked if you had any problems with that." Zhou Yu repeated. He hated repeating himself.

"No..whatever she wants is fine" Xi responded and his sister smiled.

"Good, I like to help."

"We move out tomorrow! Pack the meatbuns, we're going to war!" Ce beamed with pride. Now that was a speech worth being recorded for historical value!

"Inscribe that on the walls of his tomb if I don't have the chance." Zhou Yu rubbed his temples.

"I better get some ink, that's going to be difficult to remember." Zhou Tai gave Yu a brief smile before returning to his stoic expression.

Zhou Yu laughed despite himself. He was always amused by Tai's humor. He looked over to see Nu Wa grinning at the joke as well. Poor thing…if he lost Xiao he would be just as bad off. He'd bury himself in his work and give little thought to his own health. Maybe he should tell her that. Yes Xiao deserved to know how he felt incase he was the one who didn't make it.

* * *

"Where's Da?" Sun Ce asked slightly panicked. He had sent her ahead to scout and she didn't come back.

"I haven't seen her….why?" Zhou Yu attacked another dozen men that were trying to surround them.

"She should have been back by now…I should go look for her." Ce pummeled a man with his tonfas and whipped around to kick the life out of another.

"Sure." Yu sliced open another man and looked over his shoulder. "I'll send you reinforcements in a minute."

"Good. Shouldn't be anything I can't handle but…"

"Ce, you used to say that about arithmetic."

"That's why I got you to do my homework. Look how good you got at it. Thanks to me you became a kick ass strategist."

"That was not what I was going for." Yu growled.

"Hehe. I know. See ya later bro."

"I wish you'd adopt a more customary vernacular" Yu looked behind him to see Ce running towards the mountain pass. "Or perhaps listen to me when I'm talking to you instead of running off to hunt down your wife. Some things never change."

"Zhou Yu, why is my brother running away from the battle?" Sun Shang Xiang asked as she rode up and tossed her Chakrams in to the crowd. "Do I need to usurp the throne?"

"He's looking for Da." Yu shook his head. "That woman gets lost in He Fei palace every time we visit there. Why he thought she could find her way back from a scouting mission, I'll never know."

"That's why you're supposed to make the decisions." Nu Wa pulled Hex Mark to a halt and smiled. "Or at least that's what Xi tells me."

"Sounds like treason to me." Yu said with a straight face. "Might need to dump that man in a pile of socks to determine how much he disrespects his emperor."

"Socks?" Shang asked.

"Sun Ce has a big mouth." Wa shook her head.

"You just figured that out?" Shang laughed.

"Can you girls go support his treasure hunt efforts?" Yu sighed. "I'll win the battle, as always."

"Yes sir!" Nu Wa galloped off.

"Hey! No fair that horse is technically my property too! Don't go using it against me!" Shang took off after her.

Yu smiled. It was nice to see Shang and Wa hit it off, they were so similar and Wa needed a good friend. Actually they both needed someone to wean them off of Fu Xi.

* * *

"Da! What are you doing just standing there?" Ce ran up to his wife and realized that she was staring at four dozen archers.

"Oh sh….."

Nu Wa caught up with Sun Ce just as he stopped moving. _Why was the stupid empress just standing on a hill like that? Must be something pretty girls like to do, strike a nice pose so they look better. Ah well._ With a shake of her head she let Hex Mark leap over the top of the hill and suddenly realized why the royal couple had come to a halt. She instinctively turned the horse to the left hoping to shield them from the onslaught of arrows already in flight but a few made it past her and her horse. The majority of them did not.

Shang's smile faded as she watched Sun Ce drop to his knees. Then her horse made it another ten feet and she saw Hex Mark squeal and crumple to the ground crushing his rider underneath him. Furious that another member of her family was being attacked by an ambush party she pushed ahead into the archers and began to musou the life out of every last one of them. They had taken her father already and they sure as hell weren't going to get Ce too!

Da Qiao began to sob as she clutched her husband's chest. "Ce! Ce! Say something!"

"Hey babe…it's okay….just got me in the shoulder, see?" Ce gritted his teeth and pulled the arrow out. "We better go help Shang…can't let her hog all the revenge. They squashed pop with rocks, remember?"

Da nodded, her worry eased by Sun Ce's smile. As he helped her up she looked down over the hill and gasped. "Oh…no…"

"What?" Ce asked as he turned. Nu Wa and her horse lay still as could be on the small slope. He bent down hoping that this really wasn't happening. "Hey…Wa."

"Ce…is she…dead?" Da asked not really wanting to know the answer. But the grey horse was now crimson and the arrows were embedded in them both. All this because she couldn't find her way back quick enough. She almost lost her husband….but Nu Wa had saved them both from knowing that kind of pain. _How can I ever thank her…._

"No…"Ce saw her breathe a bit. on. You can't go doing something like this and die before I can thank you." He was trying to sound chipper, trying to be comforting in the woman's final moments, but he just sounded stupid. They had told him that Pang Tong had been found with nearly a dozen arrows in him…and now his wife succumbed to the same fate. Only difference was the grey horse hadn't made it out of this one alive. Someone was waiting for her and she knew it…..at least she'd be happier.

"Thank….you.." Wa choked. "I can …go home." She smiled weakly and felt the life drain away. How the darkness beckoned her…how nice it felt despite being so cold.

Ce gulped as she closed her eyes and breathed her last. As emperor he was going to have to get used to the fact that people were going to give their lives for him….but he wasn't her emperor. She wasn't supposed to be protecting him…but he would not let it be for nothing. No her death was going to forge a new pact between Wu and Shu. Both empires were going to bury this woman and then they were going to unite to destroy Cao Cao. He looked up as his sister came racing over. "She saved me…"

Shang stared down at the blood that began to stain the ground and said nothing. Sure she had seen people die before, but none of them slipped away knowing that there was something better. Here in front of her was a gruesome scene…a horse and rider mercilessly shot down, yet there was a sense of peace on Wa's face. How could someone die so horribly yet be so content with it? _If that were me_…_I'd be terrified. But there won't be someone waiting for me…unless…._

"What the hell are you doing?" Fu Xi hollered as he and Gan Ning jogged up. "Bad time for a frickin' picnic Ce."

"You're hurt!" Ning stated as he saw Ce stand up with blood dripping down his arm. "Nice scar going to come out of that though. Definitely something sexy for the misses to brag about."

Ce shook his head and looked Xi in the eye as he approached. He bit his lip knowing he was obstructing the man's view of his dead sister. "Man….I'm sorry."

"Okay. Just don't run off for a private rendezvous in the middle of a battle again." Xi stopped next to his emperor and looked down at all the dead archers. "Phew….you're lucky you only got hit once!"

Ce stepped back to reveal the trade off for his life. "I'm sorry….it all happened so fast."

Xi slowly allowed himself to recognize who was lying on the ground underneath the dead horse. He was not unaccustomed to death, he had watched his parents die when he was a kid and was even there when Lu Bu was executed, but this was different. This was his fault.

* * *

"Well, I knew you had a thing for Generals Zhao and Ma. Apparently I didn't see that you also had something for Wei Yan." Tong smiled up at her as she walked over to him in disbelief. "Welcome home darling."

"Is this real?"

"Well….eh. We're dead so I guess it technically isn't 'real' in that sense. But it is happening. Come, I've missed you." He opened his arms and she ran to him.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? I'm so proud of you! Helping Liu Bei and Lady Sun, saving Sun Ce. Honey, you've altered the course of history. My little hero." Tong kissed her forehead.

"I didn't help them though."

"Oh I think you did. You gave them a shove in the right direction. Well, we'll have to see how that works out."

"I don't have to leave you again, do I?"

"Nope, we're here for eternity." Tong kissed her again. "That's the point of the afterlife."

Shiva, the huge Tibetan Mastiff, sauntered over and lay down next to his master. He rolled on his back to get some attention.

"Oh now you show up? I've been alone up here for how long and you hold out for her? Man's best friend my ass." Tong looked down at his wife. "So I think that that grey horse was bad luck for us, what do you think?"

"I think we're stuck with him" Wa smiled as Hex Mark trotted down the road.

"Well that's great." Tong frowned as Hex Mark began nibbling at the roof of the shack. "Hey there buddy! Just because we're dead doesn't mean I get to take time off. Still need to maintain the homestead, got it?"

"I missed you so much." Wa pushed him to the ground. "Don't you ever do that to me again!"

"Well I don't think I can die again so it's a pretty safe bet that you're stuck with me." Tong smiled at his wife's glowing face. Death had returned her to her former glory, a healthy happy girl. The afterlife was nice like that no decaying people or headless bodies, just people returned to their happiest time in life. "Although I may have to kill that stupid horse again if he keeps taking the roof off!"

"I'm with you, that's all that matters." Wa covered his face with kisses.

"I'm sorry I left you….I never wanted to see you like that."

"It's over." Wa cupped his cheek with her hand. "We're together again."

"Yes, my love, we are." Tong smiled. "And we got a pretty neat little sideshow going."

"Oh?" she purred.

"Yes, we get to see how all this plays out. Boy is Liu Bei gonna be pissed….."

"I tried to give him his horse back."

"Oh don't worry; when he dies we're going to be showing up on his doorstep with this destructive critter. You here that? Try eating a slate roof and see how far it gets you." Tong smiled at Wa as she lifted him up to hug him and squeezed his chest. Good thing he wasn't breathing anymore or she would have killed him off. "I actually meant that you left a lot of anxious people back in Xu Chang. Quite the harem."

"I hope they find my letters. Especially Wei Yan's."

"Well, Kongming's always been eyeing my ledgers. Silly man wanted me to write a book. So I bet he'll go through our things. Plus Yue Ying has always been nosey."

"This really is happening right?" Wa asked.

"Yup. You're dead." Tong grinned. "But I assure you the afterlife is quite the entertaining place. Just a couple of weeks ago Lu Bu showed up on my doorstep to tell me about a certain poem that Zhang Liao wrote. Apparently it has been ranked as the worst poem ever by the dead scholars. That is an achievement."

"We can see other people?"

"Yeah. Pretty big world here. Got to see my parents again and my old dog Scraps. That's really as far as I've ventured, I didn't want to get too far from home. Lu Bu was quite a surprise. Seemed nice, apologized for not liking me and all. Not a great conversationalist, but he was polite enough. Said to say hi."

"Can't we just stay here?"

"Well you might be surprised what you're going to see pretty soon. You haven't been buried yet, that is something worth seeing. Oh, and for the record Ma Chao is a horrible gravedigger."

"Good to know."

"And Liu Bei does a terrible funeral service." Tong smiled. "Other than that I thought my burial was classy."

"You better. You should have seen where Kongming wanted to bury you."


End file.
